In the days leading up to the Italian Grand Prix nearly three weeks ago, you would have been hard pressed to find somebody who knew the name of Franco Colapinto, even in the Formula 1 community.
At the time, the Argentinian, who is part of the Williams Driver Academy, was a Formula 2 driver who had had some levels of success, but he largely flew under the radar.
It’s largely why Williams, and team principal James Vowles in particular, drew such criticism when they made the decision to drop the ever-struggling and crash-prone Logan Sargeant and replace him with Colapinto.
But just two races into his career, everybody knows his name.
Having been announced as Alex Albon’s teammate just days before he made his Formula 1 debut at Monza, the 21-year-old drove a clean first weekend, which was previously very far from a given for Williams’ second car, and finished a very respectable 12th place, just behind his teammate in 10th.
With his solid start, Colapinto may have an outside shot at a 2025 race seat.
No matter how well does for the rest of this 2024 season, Colapinto will not be racing for Williams in 2025, as Albon is already locked down on a multi-year deal, while the second seat has gone to Carlos Sainz Jr., who is set to be ousted by Ferrari at the end of the year to make way for Hamilton.
