One of the biggest revelations of the 2024 season was Franco Colapinto, a driver who came out of nowhere to become a star of the paddock. The Argentine came in as a replacement for the underfiring Logan Sargeant at Williams and became a sought-after driver in the blink of an eye.
Colapinto was having a rather decent season in F2, but was under the radar when the Grove-based squad called him up. The more popular F2 prodigies, Kimi Antonelli, Isack Hadjar, and Gabriel Bortoleto, were getting all the hype and F1 shouts. But Colapinto got the chance to shine the earliest and brightest.
The Argentine was also hugely popular in his home country, being the first from the Latin American nation to be in F1 since Gaston Mazzacane in 2001. Huge crowds of fans traveled and cheered for him in the final stages of the season, with many from Argentina flocking over to races like Austin, Mexico City, and Sao Paulo. Consequently, Netflix’s cameras also followed.
So, when season seven of the superhit docuseries Drive to Survive hit the screens last month, many were expecting Netflix to feature Colapinto’s rise to stardom. Sadly, as the driver himself revealed, expectations came crashing down.
Colapinto felt that he would be featured prominently. Because, as said, the cameras were around him wherever he went. However, for some reason, the directors saw it necessary not to give him any screen time whatsoever.
“They followed me every race with the microphone and the camera from behind. I watched the Netflix series, and I didn’t even appear for 5 seconds,” the 21-year-old said on a show called the Nude Project.
️¡Franco Colapinto sobre Drive to Survive!
“Me siguieron todas las carreras con el micrófono y la cámara por atrás… Veo la serie de Netflix y no salí ni 5 segundos ”
NUDE PROJECT pic.twitter.com/GWZUDKAQuH
— 43 ★ (@ColapintoFiles) April 6, 2025
It was disappointing for fans who were looking forward to behind-the-scenes footage of Colapinto’s early days in F1. Moments like his first-ever points finish in Baku and his special P10 result in Austin would have made for a special watch.
Colapinto not the only driver to miss out
2024 was an entertaining season. A lot was going on, both on and off the track—perhaps too much to cover in just 10 episodes, which could have prompted the makers to remove Colapinto’s part. But he wasn’t the only one to lose out, as others had their screen time cut as well.
The biggest miss of Season 7 was arguably the absence of Lewis Hamilton’s Silverstone win.
the commentary during lewis hamilton’s win at silverstone
pic.twitter.com/38WdLXh6cd https://t.co/McIP1S8dfC— аlina (@mercedarri) January 18, 2025
Hamilton hadn’t won a race since Saudi Arabia 2021, and he delivered a spectacular performance in front of his home crowd to climb back onto the top step of the podium. It was an emotional victory—one that proved his talent hadn’t gone anywhere. For fans, it would have made for a memorable feature. Sadly, it didn’t make the final cut.
Other stories, like Sergio Perez’s Red Bull departure, Jack Doohan’s Alpine shootout with Mick Schumacher, and Valtteri Bottas’ hunt for a seat, were either omitted completely or fleetingly mentioned.
For those associated with Williams, however, not being featured wouldn’t come as a surprise. After all, the Williams family’s departure—led by Claire Williams—was also completely overlooked by the Season 3 crew. In the latest season, they did get some spotlight in episode four, but mainly for Carlos Sainz’s seat hunt for 2025.
