Franco Colapinto was announced by Williams as Logan Sargeant’s replacement. The 21-year-old will become the youngest driver on the 2024 F1 grid. Yet, the Argentine driver is no stranger to the oldest driver on the grid, Fernando Alonso, who supported Colapinto in his early junior formula seasons.
Colapinto started professional karting at the age of 10 in 2013. The Argentine became a National karting champion and sensation in 2018. Soon followed the Gold Medal at the 2018 Youth Olympics in Karting.
Five years ago @alo_oficial began backing the career of a young Argentinian racer who had impressed in Spain’s Formula 4 series.
This weekend he and Franco Colapinto will race against each other in Formula 1.#F1 pic.twitter.com/aWp8lUj5JW
— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet) August 27, 2024
Soon after that Colapinto made the step to single-seaters and started racing in the Spanish Formula 4 in 2019. He was spotted by Alonso and his confidant Pedro de la Rosa. Colapinto signed with Alonso’s FA Racing by Drivex in the Spanish F4 championship.
Colapinto went on to win the first race of the championship. With 11 wins out of 21 races, the Argentine scored a total of 325 points and took the championship trophy home.
This exceptional performance was good enough to warrant an F3 move, but Colapinto did not meet the minimum age criteria. He made appearances for Drivex in higher categories but moved to the Formula Renault Eurocup in 2020. By this time, Alonso’s backing had ended.
Colapinto’s career after Alonso-backed Spanish F4 triumph
Colapinto signed with MP Motorsport for the 2020 Formula Renault Eurocup, finishing P3 in the championship with two wins to his name. 2021 would see the Argentine make appearances in a variety of championships like the Asian Le Mans Series, and the FIA World Endurance Championship – LMP2. However, the main focus was the Formula Regional European Championship with MP Motorsport.
Colapinto finally made it to F3 in 2022 signing with Van Amersfoort Racing, winning two races and finishing ninth in the championship. The new Williams driver ended up reuniting with MP Motorsport for the 2023 F3 season and finished fourth in the championship.
The Williams Driver’s Academy noticed Colapinto’s talent and signed him in 2023. MP Motorsport promoted Colapinto to the F2 championship for the 2024 season.
Currently, the 21-year-old is sixth in the F2 standings, having won a race and scored two podiums. However, he will step up to F1 for Williams at the Italian GP weekend, which leaves a vacant seat at MP for the last four F2 rounds.
