F1 has another young dynamic rookie on the grid — Franco Colapinto. The Argentine has taken the sport by storm and has already scored points in the second F1 race of his career for Williams. However, he’s still just a temporary guest in the Williams garage. He will be without a full-time F1 drive in 2025, even though he was in the running for a seat before Carlos Sainz committed his future to the team.
This was revealed on the F1 Nation podcast after Tom Clarkson asked ESPN journalist Juan Fossaroli about Colapinto‘s future. Fossaroli said, “I think he was considered [by Williams] at one point. He was part of that list. I don’t know the order. Obviously, Carlos was the first option.”
“It’s fantastic to have a team with drivers like Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz. But if these two races were a couple of months before Carlos was decided, I don’t know..”
Colapinto has exceeded expectations with his two promising performances in Monza and Baku. However, if he had gotten this opportunity a few months ago, the young Argentine could’ve been a serious contender for a full-time seat in F1. And besides his speed, he is also bringing in a lot of money from Argentine companies.
Sponsors have been lining up for Williams since they announced Colapinto will be driving for them for the remaining nine races. They’ve onboarded two Argentine companies as sponsors.
This proves how desperately the sport needs drivers from South America and the brands are willing to shower a team with money for the visibility they get due to drivers from their continent. This scenario adds to the 21-year-old’s attractiveness for a seat. Nevertheless, his performances alone could land him one of the two vacant seats for next season.
Can Colapinto still land a 2025 seat?
Despite being a Williams Academy driver, Colapinto won’t be able to drive for the Grove outfit beyond 2024. However, this opportunity to drive for the rest of this season might pay dividends elsewhere for him. It could be as early as 2025 with two seats still vacant at VCARB and Sauber for the upcoming season.
VCARB might have some elaborate plans brewing in the background. However, Sauber/Audi could be a possible destination for the youngster. With Williams stealing their #1 choice of Sainz, they could return the favor. Audi can surely secure their future and sign Colapinto to fill their second seat with a young exciting talent alongside the experienced Nico Hulkenberg.
The currently Hinwil-based outfit also have another young talent on their radar in Gabriel Bortoleto. The Brazilian is another exciting prospect with his feeder series record to back it up.
He’s currently leading the F2 championship by 4.5 points with two rounds to go. However, he hasn’t got the opportunity to showcase his talents in the premier class like Colapinto. This scenario could tip the scales in the Argentine’s favor.
