Forming the grid for 2023 has not been by any means a simple task, with twist and turns in team’s line-up plans throwing hurdles left, right and centre.
After Haas confirmed that Nico Hulkenberg will be replacing Mick Schumacher for next year, Williams now have the only unconfirmed seat, with it not yet been one hundred per cent certain who will partner Alex Albon in 2023.
Nicholas Latifi will be departing the team after three seasons in F1, that much is for certain, but his probable replacement Logan Sargeant will not know if he will be able to take Williams up on their offer of a 2023 race seat until the end of the F2 season.
Drivers require a certain amount of super licence points to be able to race in Formula 1, and Sargeant is currently a little bit short of the required points total.
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The American has had two main methods of upping his points balance, through driving in free practice session, which he has done in multiple races recently, and through his finishing position in the F2 championship.
Should the 21-year-old fail to finish in the required position in the F2 standings, then Williams will be forced to look elsewhere in the driver market, after efforts to sign Oscar Piastri, Daniel Ricciardo and Nyck de Vries have all been unsuccessful.
De Vries stood in for the ill Alex Albon in Monza, but after his point scoring finish stunned the paddock the Dutchman was quickly snapped up by AlphaTauri.
One driver who is yet to be really considered as an option for the 2023 race seat at Williams is young Jack Doohan, who is currently a part of the Alpine set up.
Alpine had originally planned to send Oscar Piastri on loan to Williams with the plan of him replacing Fernando Alonso in the future, but the Spaniards unexpected move to Aston Martin forced them to try and skip the Williams loan.
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The Australian then entered a legal battle with his team as he had actually already signed a contract with McLaren behind closed doors, leading to a Pierre Gasly domino effect as Alpine picked their partner for Esteban Ocon.
It has now been suggested that as Alpine were so willing to loan Williams their academy driver in Piastri for a season, what would prevent them from exploring a similar avenue with Doohan.
Williams do not seem to have many options should their preferred choice of Sargeant fail to qualify for a race seat, so fans should keep their eyes on young Jack Doohan and the Australian’s battle for P4 in the F2 championship.