Franco Colapinto will replace Logan Sargeant at the start of the Italian Grand Prix. The indiscretion collected by Motorsport.com has already been confirmed by the team with a press release. The twenty-one year old Argentine will join Alexander Albon in the Monza weekend.
After a ballot with Mick Schumacher and the request (denied by Red Bull) of Liam Lawson, team principal James Vowles gave priority to the driver who is part of the team’s junior program, rewarding the work of the Academy.
Franco Colapinto, Williams Racing Academy Driver
Photo by: Williams
Colapinto drove the FW46 in the first free practice session for the British Grand Prix, and is actively involved in Williams’ simulator work.
After his European debut in the Spanish F.4, Colapinto joined Fernando Alonso’s Academy in 2019, taking third place in the F.Renault Eurocup in 2020. The 2021 season saw him on the track in both Formula Regional and the Endurance world, alternating appearances in the ELMS and WEC championships. Since 2022 he has returned to focus on Formula 3, a category in which he has competed for two seasons with four victories to his name. This year saw his debut in Formula 2, with his first success in the category achieved in Imola.
Franco Colapinto, Williams FW46
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
For Argentina, Colapinto’s Formula 1 debut will be a historic moment. It was twenty-three years ago that a ‘white and blue’ driver last started a Grand Prix, a race that coincided with Gaston Mazzacane’s farewell to the Circus in the 2001 San Marino GP in Imola, at the wheel of a Prost.
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