Williams F1 team principal James Vowles has confirmed that the team has a “reasonably long contract” with Franco Colapinto, while discussions about his future are still taking place.
Red Bull's interest has been widely reported, with team principal Christian Horner spotted leaving the Williams hospitality at Interlagos, while other teams are said to be interested in the Argentine's services, such as Alpine F1.
A door has just closed with Audi F1 / Sauber which preferred to choose Gabriel Bortoleto, released by McLaren without any financial compensation according to Mattia Binotto.
But the Argentinian, thanks to his performances and his marketing value in South and Central America, has not said his last word according to Vowles, who is still looking for the best deal for his team.
When asked if it was a question of lending or selling his contract at a very good price, he confirms.
“Yes, basically that's what we do. Williams has a fairly long contract with Franco and so we have to compensate him. But it's nothing unusual when a team supports the rise of a young driver .”
“And I mean, when we signed Franco, it was already on the basis that he was incredibly talented. The typical thing behind it is that teams take drivers like that on a reasonably long contract.
“We're lucky, Franco has done an incredible job…I think the world can see it, and it's a great reward for him that he's exceptional, and teams really want the opportunity to work with him.”
“All we're doing right now, all I can say right now is we're looking at his options for the future, and we're hoping to have some news that we can talk about. But for now, there’s not much more to say.”
