Zak O’Sullivan is currently racing in Formula Two, just one racing category down from the promised land of Formula One.
In fact, the Cheltenham-born racing driver is an official part of the Williams Young Driver Program and will look to impress team boss, James Vowles to get a shot with the new team.
Vowles will need to make a decision in 2024 whether to keep the underperforming American driver Logan Sargeant, or make a completely different decision in hiring a rookie in O’Sullivan.
The 19-year-old made his Formula One debut when he rolled out of the garage in Abu Dhabi to compete in the official final first Practice Session, where he took over Alex Albon’s seat for the session.
The Brit ended up being 0.7 seconds behind Logan Sargeant despite that session being his first one in F1 when the American had an entire season to get imbedded into the team.
O’Sullivan claimed the 2021 GB3 Championship before finishing 11th in his first season in Formula 3.
In his second season, the Brit claimed second place and hence forth earning himself a Formula 2 spot for the following season.
The positive for the 19-year-old will be that he can keep the pressure on Vowles for a possible spot on the grid for 2025, especially if Alex Albon is poached by a bigger team with Mercedes and Red Bull looking interested.
Despite the pressure from O’Sullivan, Logan Sargent is looking more confident heading into the new season according to James Vowles.
Vowles told Planet F1: “First and foremost, I’ve asked him to surprise the world in terms of his physical fitness, his approach and his performance.
“We’ve changed quite a bit with him across the winter period; his training mechanisms and programme is completely different behind the scenes.
“Already, you should see he’s very much more confident person, and he carries that well.”
With silly season coming up in Formula One and American driver Logan Sargeant under pressure, there is a possible role coming up in the main team for Zak O’Sullivan.
First however, the Cheltenham man needs to prove himself in Formula 2 where he will need to fight off fellow youngsters: Victor Martins, Oliver Bearman, Dennis Hauger, Isack Hadjar, and Richard Verschoor.
