Franco Colapinto’s Soaring Popularity Leads to $168 Billion Conglomerate Joining Him as a Sponsor

When Williams announced Franco Colapinto as a replacement for Logan Sargeant, it was already clear that he was just a stand-in driver before the arrival of Carlos Sainz in 2025. The Argentine now has only five more races before he will have to give up his seat. However, his impressive performances and a sudden rise in popularity have led to Uber joining him as a sponsor starting from the Mexican Grand Prix.

The biggest reason behind the sudden surge in Colapinto’s popularity is the massive support of the Argentine fans, who have turned up in huge numbers to support their driver and are expected to continue to do so in the remaining fixtures, most of which are being held in the Americas.

The 21-year-old revealed his new sponsorship by the $168 billion conglomerate by saying that he uses their services in his day-to-day life whenever he needs to go somewhere as he doesn’t yet own a car.

“Uber is part of my daily life and I’m happy to have them on the road. As you know, I don’t have a car of my own and Uber is the app I use to get around wherever I am. I love knowing that they are also with me on this journey,” Colapinto said as quoted by FormulaPassion.

While fans have been turning up in huge numbers to support the Argentine driver, his recent interaction with them after the conclusion of the US Grand Prix caused a bit of chaos after he climbed up the fence on top of the pit wall to greet them and Formula 1 security had to intervene to pull him down.

Nevertheless, Colapinto’s increasing popularity and points-scoring performances are helping his case to secure a full-time seat for 2025.

Colapinto is in contention for the final open seat for 2025

Colapinto’s point-scoring finishes have not only helped Williams in the constructors’ standings against Alpine, but they have also put him in the shopping window of Sauber/Audi, who still have a vacant seat available for the 2025 grid.

This new sponsorship deal with a big brand like Uber might help with Colapinto’s chances at landing that seat. Current Sauber driver Zhou Guanyu’s Chinese sponsor backing is a perfect case in point of the same.

Unfortunately for Zhou, Colapinto may usurp his seat and is among the four to five drivers competing for that seat at the Hinwil outfit. The social media hype train is also rooting for the Argentine to get the Sauber seat after seeing his exploits at Williams.

The list of drivers on Sauber’s radar includes Valtteri Bottas [Zhou’s teammate], Gabriel Bortoleto, Theo Pourchaire, and Mick Schumacher. With Nico Hulkenberg set to take one of the Sauber seats, neither Bottas nor Zhou may secure that seat with Colapinto showing superb prowess.