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f1 BREAKING: Logan Sargeant to race for Andretti from 2028!
Logan’s phone rang a dozen times during the weekend. There wasn’t anyone he had to tell, because Kyle already knew and his family were informed way earlier. He only answered one call.
“Logan, you–” Alex’s voice rushed through the speaker, filled with disbelief. “You’re back?”
He chuckles lightly, lying back down on his bed. “I was never gone, man.”
“Well–yeah, of course, but–” Alex chokes. “God, it’ll be great to have you back. With Andretti as well, I can’t believe it.”
“Take it easy, mate, you’ll see a load of me through the next year.” He grins, even if Alex couldn’t see it.
When Logan left the racing world, humiliated, the debris of his will and heart shattered into the barriers that he could just never escape–Alex was there to help. He picked it all right up, mended it, patted it back into its place and told him to hold his head up.
“I’ll be right there with you, Logan.” He said in 2024, through the speaker on a facetime call. Something like what they were doing now.
So Logan stood tall and moved on. He reunited with Kyle–who welcomed him with his cheesy smile and a big hug. He returned to the sunny Florida–playing golf and doing whatever the fuck he wanted.
He went to Nashville on the premise of supporting Kyle–but he met up with some teams as well for IndyCar negotiations.
He did some part-time racing with Meyer Shank after–then signed in 2025.
And the rest was history.
Now, 2028, he would return back to the world of motorsport that chewed him up and spat him out, leaving him a sorry mess on the road.
And he wasn’t going to take any of that anymore.
-
Andretti picked both Callum and him up for all three testing days. Logan sat in the passenger seat with Callum, who shot him a small smile.
“So, what should I expect?” Callum mumbled with a flustered laugh as they entered the Bahrain paddock for testing.
The rest of the holiday had been fine. They had signed Callum alongside Logan–who was quite a pleasant addition, being someone familiar. Logan turned off his phone and enjoyed his last days of freedom until his return. They had also spent some time filming media and getting ready as a new team in F1. Andretti was an American team and the eleventh. It wouldn’t be a surprise if there was some undesirability. Logan wouldn’t be surprised. He had gotten shit just because he was American.
“A lot of media.” Logan counts with his fingers. “A lot of pressure. But as a rookie, there won’t be so much weight on you to do well.”
“Well, that’s…reassuring.” Callum chuckled, and Logan let out a small smile.
“They’re not very fond of Indycar, or anything American related.” Logan then gestures to himself. “But again, there will always be people rooting for you. And enjoy your time here–it can be cut short quite easily.” He said the last part with a slight bitterness.
“Got it, thanks.” Callum smiles.
They get out of the car–Callum trailing behind with his manager as Logan trudges towards the entrance into the paddock. He had forgotten how jarring this world was–Indycar’s general atmosphere was relaxed, fun, and all-round exhilarating. Logan could voice his opinions as well–if he wanted to. He had forgotten about his battle scars–gritting his teeth and smiling to pretend that yes, the pace was there, and we’ll see what we can do with what we have tomorrow.
As he taps his card into the paddock, he can feel all eyes swivel onto him. The only one he focuses on is the Andretti photographer–to which he gives a small smile, then setting his face back to neutral. He pulls out his phone to see two notifications from Alex.
A: when are u free? Wanna come talk
A: do i go to the andretti hospitality?
Logan, trying to distract himself from the paparazzi and fuck-all, types: maybe in an hour
Alex immediately replies. alright, see you later
Logan pocketed his phone and took the long walk down. Andretti, being the eleventh team, was dead last. That was fine to him–as long as he could remain neutral and walk a little faster.
He finally made it in, almost sighing in relief. The Andretti team–even if they hadn’t been his Indycar team–felt like family. Being around other Americans after he had spent years stuck isolated in Europe felt comforting.
“It’s weird, huh?” An engineer quipped to him as he set his bag down onto a seat. “There are so many cameras.”
“Yeah, we'll get used to it.” he drags his fingers down his cheeks, before pulling himself together and getting a coffee from the catering team.
-
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callum_ilott bahrain testing here we goo [Two photos: A photo of Callum walking through the Bahrain Paddock with his manager by his side; the second photo of him and Logan in the car laughing–Logan’s fingers held up as if he was counting.]
“I finally don’t have to travel all the way to America to see you!” Alex exclaims as he walks into Logan’s driver room.
“My favourite W.A.G.” He grinned, getting up and shaking a firm hand. Alex’s eyes softened, before he pulled him into a tight embrace.
Other than keeping in contact, Alex also went out of his way to be there for Logan by going to his Indycar races even with his hectic schedule. Jet lagged and weary, he had sat through hundreds of laps, through great races and shitty ones—all the while with a cheery smile on his face.
“I’m glad you’re back.” He says, whispering the words into his ear.
“I’m glad you’re here while I’m at it.” He returns, and they dissolve into short giggles.
“Want to grab lunch later?” Alex asks, releasing Logan from his grip.
“Sure,” They chat for a few more minutes before Alex heads off. The conversation had put him at ease—totally forgetting about the guard that he had held up—but of course, he’d let that down for Alex, always.
He can’t say the same for many others, of course.
For Callum, he would never bare his teeth and give him a cold shoulder. He hadn’t been a part of this world, after all—he barely knew what was going on.
For Alex, he couldn’t even hide himself away if he wanted to. As evident from their conversation—he had eased him into his genuine self, without him even realising.
Perhaps they were the only two who were the exception.
He doesn’t know how comfortable he can get with anyone else–but that’s to be expected.
All he has to do now is keep to himself and do his best in the season.
He’s not letting this go ever again.
-
Testing was fine–being a new team, Andretti did as many runs and tests as possible. He was back to what he always wanted to do–drive an F1 car. Even if there was no competition, the feel of the car was just…right. Indycar had been good, but F1 had always been his dream.
When they were dismissed for lunch, Logan went to find Alex at where they had planned to meet up. What he didn’t expect were three more additions sitting next to Alex, talking in loud voices and big smiles. George with a pair of sunglasses sitting on his head, pearly whites shining; Lando with crinkled warm eyes and an impish smirk, and Oscar chuckling slightly amongst them.
There was no way.
Logan’s mouth pulled into a slight grimace and he quickly moved away before they could see him. He pulled out his phone and called Alex’s contact.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Alex pick up, the other three seemingly unaware of who he was calling.
“Logan, where are you?” He asked pleasantly.
“Alex, I thought we were eating alone.” he scowled.
“Oh…I…” Alex pinched his nose bridge. “Sorry about that–I just wanted to get George to come, then Oscar and Lando just tagged along when they heard you’d be there.” He muttered. “But, you’re okay with them, aren’t you?”
Sure. Sure, Logan was fine with George. George and him had the same manager–he was like a mentor to him sometimes in his junior academy days–the man was charming and had no ill intentions.
But, Lando and Oscar. Lando just exuded a weird energy around Logan, like he wasn’t really keen on him being around–but Logan just sorted that into unfamiliarity. Oscar was…well. Oscar.
“I could ask them to leave if you want–” Alex hurries to elaborate when Logan forgets to respond.
“No, it’s fine, I’ll…yeah. Thanks.” Logan hangs up and makes his way around the corner, heading his way towards the group, who had settled into comfortable conversation. Alex, looking up, exclaimed cheerily.
“Hey, Logan!”
“Hey, big man.” Lando flashed a smile. Slightly subdued, Logan noticed. “How’s it going?”
“Good.” Logan said, slightly stiffly, shaking his hand. George nods, and Oscar just watches. He turns away and goes to get his food–not really being particular and just chooses a salmon dish. He returns with the plate in hand, sitting next to Alex and Oscar, shifting his chair slightly to the former.
“And then George just throws out a draw-four and ruins it all.” Lando was saying, gesturing wildly. “It was hilarious–Oscar had one card left!”
“What can I say,” George shrugs.
They all descend into snorts and snickers and dig into their food. Logan spears his fish, a permanent frown on his face.
“So, Logan, how are you?” He hears George start, and feels all eyes on him. “Good testing?”
“Yeah, we got good data.” He says shortly.
“I didn’t expect the FIA to approve of Andretti’s entrance.” Oscar cut in, possibly trying to get a response from Logan. “They’re very…traditional.”
“Didn’t you see the American Congress filing complaints against their rejection in 2024?” Lando laughed. “They probably had no choice.”
“Yeah I guess.” Logan says, his words stale around the edges.
“When did Andretti sign you?” Alex questions.
“It wasn’t far from the time they announced it. Probably a month or two.” He remembers the shock surrounding it. Honestly, he had expected Colton, or even Kyle to land the seat–but Andretti had come upon, offered him a once in a lifetime opportunity, and he grabbed it the second it had been dished to him.
“Did you know about it, Alex?” Lando points a fork in Alex’s direction, who shakes his head.
“I found out like the rest of us.” He smiles. “But maybe Logan told Oscar?”
“I told nobody.” Logan interjects. “Andretti told me to keep it hush-hush.”
That was only partially true.
Logan can feel Oscar’s stare penetrating through him, like he has a burning question he wants to spill but can’t–jaw locked and neutral, just like Logan is doing.
“Still can’t believe they signed you and Illot, man.” Lando sighs, pushing himself back into his seat, pushing his legs up onto the chair.
“What does that mean?” Logan grits his teeth.
“Nothing!” Lando smiles widely. “It’s cool, dude, you’re back–Alex did the same thing with Williams!”
“Ha, ha, very funny Lando.” Alex says amusedly.
Logan had much patience, if he could say so. He spent the most of 2024 teetering around the team–waiting for the upgrades, staying last and last and having hard wheel–to–wheel battles with Sauber; which would’ve been cool if they weren’t battling for P19. Then he waited for an opportunity to showcase himself–which got ruined when he fucked the car into Zandvoort (But the upgrades were illegal anyway). And then he waited for Monza, but it turned out there was no Monza because he got dropped by Tuesday.
He had more patience, really, he did, but he didn’t really like how the conversation was evolving and the lunch meeting was not how he anticipated so he wasn’t going to entertain it. As soon as he finished his salmon, he got up, announcing, “I’m gonna go. Need to get back to Andretti. See you guys.”
“Oh–” Alex frowned, slightly disappointed at his abrupt exit. “See you then, Logan.”
“See you around!” Lando waved his fork.
“Have a good day, Logan!” George chorused.
He didn’t stay long enough to hear Oscar’s. Logan returned his plate and walked off into the paddock, quick steps to try and get back to his comfort space. But that was cut short when he heard a voice yell from behind.
“Logan, wait!” His stomach drops. He sighs internally, turning to see Oscar moving towards him, a flurry of orange and brown and black. An unreadable expression on his face.
“Hey.” He answers. “Need anything?”
“Sorry about Lando.” Oscar’s eyebrows are knitted up, lips pursed. “He doesn't think before he says anything.”
“I don’t really care what he thinks.” Logan drawls.
Oscar takes a step back, jaw slackening.
“Oh—that's good…” he stutters.
Logan stares at him. Oscar stares back.
“So?” He’s about to turn around and leave. He does have to go back to Andretti after all.
“I just—it’s good to see you back. Do—do you want to hang out sometime?” Oscar says lamely. The words, although tame and positive, seemed to have lit something in him, because he felt inexplicable anger coursing through his veins as the words processed through his brain.
Logan would’ve said yes. If he was still in 2024, he would be more than elated that Oscar invited him to hang out. A small part of him, inside, had almost burst when Oscar had asked. They had been really good friends, after all. Probably one of Logan’s only friends.
Took him four years to say something. The voice in his head said bitterly.
Logan smiles. “No, it's alright. I don’t really want to waste your time.”
Because that’s all he was when you boil down to it, wasn’t he?
And Logan turned around and walked away, leaving Oscar frozen in the middle of the paddock, nothing to say.