Sargeant Ends 30-Year Wait for US Driver to Score in F1 

Williams' US driver Logan Sargeant races during the 2023 United States Formula One Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, on October 22, 2023. (AFP)
Williams' US driver Logan Sargeant races during the 2023 United States Formula One Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, on October 22, 2023. (AFP)
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Sargeant Ends 30-Year Wait for US Driver to Score in F1 

Williams' US driver Logan Sargeant races during the 2023 United States Formula One Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, on October 22, 2023. (AFP)
Williams' US driver Logan Sargeant races during the 2023 United States Formula One Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, on October 22, 2023. (AFP)

Williams rookie Logan Sargeant celebrated a surprise first point in Formula One on Sunday, thanks to the disqualifications of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, and ended a 30-year wait for a US driver to score.

Sargeant was classified 10th at Austin's Circuit of the Americas after Mercedes' Hamilton was stripped of second place and Ferrari's Leclerc lost his sixth place when their cars failed post-race checks.

The last US driver before the 22-year-old Florida native to score in a grand prix was Michael Andretti with McLaren in 1993.

"It’s amazing to score my first point in F1 on home turf after the challenging weekend I’ve had," said Sargeant, who failed to finish the previous race in Qatar after suffering exhaustion in the heat.

"I’m so proud of this team and myself for the hard work and progress we’ve been making this season," added the rookie whose seat for next season is far from certain.

"We worked hard overnight to find a direction with the car that was going to be positive, and we found that...The pace was so much better today, and I was driving really well."

Williams also had Alex Albon finish in ninth place, with the team having two drivers in the top 10 for the first time since the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix.

The team are seventh out of 10 in the constructors' standings, 10 points clear of eighth-placed Alfa Romeo with four races remaining.

Australian Daniel Ricciardo, returning from injury at AlphaTauri, is now the only driver on the starting grid yet to score this season.



Japan Qualify for BJK Cup Finals with Win Over Canada

Japan's Moyuka Uchijima levelled the tie when she breezed through the second match against Canadian Marina Stakusic, winning 6-3, 6-3 - AFP
Japan's Moyuka Uchijima levelled the tie when she breezed through the second match against Canadian Marina Stakusic, winning 6-3, 6-3 - AFP
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Japan Qualify for BJK Cup Finals with Win Over Canada

Japan's Moyuka Uchijima levelled the tie when she breezed through the second match against Canadian Marina Stakusic, winning 6-3, 6-3 - AFP
Japan's Moyuka Uchijima levelled the tie when she breezed through the second match against Canadian Marina Stakusic, winning 6-3, 6-3 - AFP

Japan became the seventh team to book their place at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals when they came from behind to beat Canada 2-1 in Tokyo on Sunday.

Victory in the doubles put them top of Group A and means they will be heading to Shenzhen in September to join hosts China, defending champions Italy and fellow qualifying group winners Ukraine, Spain, Great Britain and Kazakhstan.

The one remaining place will go to either Slovakia or USA, who meet in Bratislava later on Sunday, AFP reported.

Canada and Japan had both blanked Romania 3-0 in their opening matches, setting up the head-to-head finale which was played out in front of a noisy Tokyo crowd.

The Canadians made the better start with Victoria Mboko edging Ena Shibahara over three sets, 6-4, 6-7 (8/10), 7-5.

Moyuka Uchijima then levelled the tie when she breezed through the second match against Marina Stakusic, winning 6-3, 6-3.

That left everything on the doubles where Japan could call on the experienced Shuko Aoyama, now 37, and Eri Hozumi against Rebecca Marino and Kayla Cross.

The Japanese took the first set 6-3 but the Canadians hit back strongly to lead 5-1 in the second, at which point they wobbled, losing four games in a row.

They held their nerve to break again and take the set 7-5 but were immediately in trouble in the decider when Marino was broken.

As pressure mounted and errors crept into the Canadians' game, the Japanese pair turned the screw to see out a 6-2 final set which qualified them for the China showpiece.

The BJK Cup qualifiers featured six groups of three nations with the winners booking a ticket to the eight-team final tournament.