Savage sackings that prove F1 is world’s most cut-throat sport – including star axed by email from PA… on his birthday

WITHIN days of smashing his car at the Dutch Grand Prix last weekend, Logan Sargeant’s career was up in flames too.

The Williams driver crashed and burned during practice for the race at Zandvoort, and was swiftly removed from his seat in the team for the rest of the season.

Of course, in the savage world of motor racing, Sargeant, 23, is just the latest in a long line of drivers to be brutally axed without warning.

Here, we explore the scandalous sackings that prove Formula One is the world’s most cut-throat business – including the racer unfortunate enough to be let go by email on his birthday.

Sacked by PA on his birthday

Danish driver Kevin Magnussen was a rising star of the McLaren team when he made his debut in 2014 alongside Jensen Button.

But when he finished the season trailing in eleventh place, he was swiftly replaced by two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso.

Instead of breaking the bad news to him in a face-to-face meeting, boss Ron Dennis got his assistant to send Magnussen a short and impersonal email.

Worst still, the curt message landed in Kevin’s inbox on his 23rd birthday.

“It was a short paragraph explaining that there would be nothing for me in the future,” recalled Magnussen, now 31. “It arrived on my birthday actually.”

A year earlier his predecessor Sergio Perez, 34, had been offered a contract, signed the documents and sent them back to McLaren – only to learn he was being dropped in favour of Magnussen.

‘Crashgate’ scandal

When Renault decided to axe Nelson Piquet Junior in 2009 it led to one of the biggest scandals to ever engulf the sport.

After Piquet, the son a of a three-time F1 World Champion, failed to score any points at all in the first half of the season, team boss Flavio Briatore fired him.

But Piquet shot back – alleging that Briatore and other members of the management team had ordered him to deliberately crash out of the Singapore Grand Prix to help teammate Fernando Alonso secure a victory.

Renault and Briatore launched criminal proceedings, claiming that Piquet was blackmailing them so he could finish the season.

Investigations eventually revealed that Piquet’s claims were true, in what became known as the ‘Crashgate’ scandal.

Renault were slapped with a two-year suspended ban by the International Automobile Federation (FIA) for conspiring to cause a crash.

“The conditions I had to deal with have been very strange to say the least,” said Piquet later.

“There are incidents that I can hardly believe occurred myself.

“A manager is supposed to encourage you, support you, and provide you with opportunities.

“In my case it was the opposite – Flavio Briatore was my executioner.”

‘Dumped by text’

Red Bull picked up a reputation for being ruthless right from the start.

They were said to be tough on all their drivers, even four-time ChampCar winner Sebastien Bourdais, who signed up to partner with Sebastian Vettel at their team Toro Rosso in 2008.

When the Frenchman struggled to make progress, he was swiftly dropped in favour of young Spanish driver Jaime Alguersuari.

And he later revealed he had been dumped by a brisk TEXT from team boss Franz Tost.

“The way they got rid of me was very disappointing,” said Bourdais. “He did not speak with me. He did not call me.

“Everything was done by SMS, which to me has no style.”

Tost denied the allegations, saying: “I told Monsieur Bourdais personally that he is not going drive anymore and did not write any SMS.”

Ditched for last race over rant

Although he almost triumphed in the 1990 World Championship for Ferrari, the following year was a disaster for Alain Prost.

He finished in fifth place but openly criticised his car at the Japanese Grand Prix.

“After a few laps, the shock absorbers no longer worked and the steering was incredibly hard,” said Prost, now 69.

“At the end of the race, I said it was like driving a horrible truck, no pleasure.”

Boss Claudio Lombardi was furious and fired him ahead of the season closer in Australia.

Lombardi said later: “The behaviour of Alain Prost during this season has not been at the level that Ferrari would like from a top driver.

“His behaviour insider and outside the team meant that Ferrari had to stop the relationship.”

Read of sacking on Autosport

When he was a member of the Renault team in 2017, British commentator Jolyon Palmer, now 33, was replaced by Carlos Sainz.

The problem was that nobody had told him and Palmer only realised what was happening when he logged on and saw the news online.

“I knew when I read it on Autosport,” he explained.

“And then I knew it was true as well, I spoke to some people.

“That was it.”

Axed by fax

Jordan driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen was axed by the Irish team midway through 2001 – by fax.

His contract was unceremoniously torn up following an exchange of views at Silverstone, which resulted in Frentzen taking Jordan to court.

The contract dispute was resolved ‘amicably’ at the end of 2002.

Mick Schumacher

Last year Mick Schumacher was reportedly told he was being released from Haas while standing in a hotel lobby with team boss Guenther Steiner.

The German driver, 25, had failed to secure his seat, and with Haas bringing in veteran Nico Hulkenberg for 2003, he was sacked ahead of the season finale in Abu Dhabi.

Steiner told Bild+: “He was certainly suspecting something, he doesn’t live under a rock.”

Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk