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.



No. 1 Iga Swiatek Parts Ways with Coach after 3 Trophy-laden Years Together

FILE - Poland's Iga Swiatek and her coach Tomasz Wiktorowski hold the trophy after Swiatek won the women's final of the French Open tennis tournament against Italy's Jasmine Paolini at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, Saturday, June 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)
FILE - Poland's Iga Swiatek and her coach Tomasz Wiktorowski hold the trophy after Swiatek won the women's final of the French Open tennis tournament against Italy's Jasmine Paolini at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, Saturday, June 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)
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No. 1 Iga Swiatek Parts Ways with Coach after 3 Trophy-laden Years Together

FILE - Poland's Iga Swiatek and her coach Tomasz Wiktorowski hold the trophy after Swiatek won the women's final of the French Open tennis tournament against Italy's Jasmine Paolini at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, Saturday, June 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)
FILE - Poland's Iga Swiatek and her coach Tomasz Wiktorowski hold the trophy after Swiatek won the women's final of the French Open tennis tournament against Italy's Jasmine Paolini at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, Saturday, June 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)

Top-ranked Iga Swiatek is separating from her coach Tomasz Wiktorowski.
The Polish tennis player announced the split Friday, saying the decision was taken together.
During the three years Swiatek worked with Wiktorowski, the Polish player won four of her five Grand Slam titles and rose to the top of the women’s rankings.
“After 3 years of the greatest achievements in my career, together with my coach Tomasz Wiktorowski we decided to part way,” Swiatek wrote in a post on Instagram. “I want to start with a big thank you and appreciating our work together.”
Swiatek appointed Wiktorowski as coach at the end of the 2021 season. He helped her capture 19 of her 22 career titles and an Olympic bronze medal in Paris in August.
“Coach Wiktorowski joined my team for three seasons, when I strongly needed changes and a fresh approach to my game,” Swiatek continued. “His experience, analytical and strategic attitude and enormous knowledge about tennis helped us to achieve things I’ve never dreamed of only a few months after we started working together.
“Our main goal was to become No. 1 player in the world and coach Wiktorowski was the one who said it first," The Associated Press quoted her as saying.
Swiatek hasn’t competed since losing to Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals of the US Open.
She withdrew from this week’s China Open in Beijing — where she would have been defending champion — citing personal reasons. The 23-year-old Swiatek also pulled out of the recent Korea Open in Seoul, citing fatigue.
“Due to this important change on my team, I give myself a couple of weeks to start a cooperation with a new coach,” Swiatek wrote. “I’m in the middle of first talks with coaches from abroad (non-Polish) because I’m ready to take the next step of my career. I will let you know when I make a decision.”
Wiktorowski was voted the WTA’s Coach of the Year by his peers last year.
“Coach, THANK YOU, I wish you all the best,” Swiatek wrote. “I know that you would like to rest after these 3 years of hard work and traveling a lot and spending some well-deserved time with your loved ones and I hope you’ll get what you need.”