Formula 2 race winner Franco Colapinto will drive for Williams for the rest of the F1 season as Logan Sargeant’s replacement.
Williams has spent the last few days evaluating a driver change, with the squad increasingly frustrated with Sargeant’s performance off the back of yet another high-speed crash during practice for last weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix.
With the American having failed to score a point so far this season, the latest bruising accident that wrecked the latest upgrade package left team boss James Vowles out of patience with him.
Vowles held discussions with rival team bosses over the Zandvoort weekend to evaluate candidates to replace Sargeant.
Early options included Mercedes reserve Mick Schumacher and Red Bull reserve Liam Lawson, with both their bosses saying they were open to suitable offers.
However, the F1 squad opted for a different direction and decided that Williams Driver Academy youngster Colapinto was a better bet.
Speaking about the decision, Williams team boss James Vowles said: “To replace a driver mid-season is not a decision we have taken lightly, but we believe this gives Williams the best chance to compete for points over the remainder of the season.
“We have just brought a large upgrade to the car and need to maximise every points-scoring opportunity in a remarkably tight midfield battle.
“We also believe in investing in our young drivers in the Williams Racing Driver Academy, and Franco is getting a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate what he is capable of across the final nine rounds of the season.
Franco Colapinto, Williams Racing Academy Driver
Photo by: Williams
“This is undoubtedly incredibly tough on Logan, who has given his all throughout his time with Williams, and we want to thank him for all his hard work and positive attitude.
“Logan remains a talented driver and we will support him to continue his racing career for the future. I know that Franco has great speed and huge potential, and we look forward to seeing what he can do in Formula 1.”
Colapinto has shown strong potential in his junior career. Following a successful two-year stay in F3 which yielded four sprint race wins and fourth place in the 2023 standings, Colapinto graduated to F2 this year.
He initially struggled to get up to speed with the new-for-2024 F2 machinery, having initially tasted the old cars on his debut at the Abu Dhabi finale the previous year.
But following an in-season test, his form improved and he became a regular feature at the front of the field, with his breakthrough victory coming in the Imola sprint race, where he enacted a bold last-lap move on title-chasing Paul Aron.
The MP Motorsport driver went on to score podium finishes in the Austrian and Spanish feature races.
However, a recent dip in form has seen him drop away from mounting an unlikely championship charge of his own. He is currently sixth overall in the standings.
More important than his junior result, however, is that he is no stranger to F1 machinery and has valuable experience with this year’s Williams car.
He drove grand prix machinery for the first time during last year’s post-season test in Abu Dhabi, and was also handed an FP1 outing at this year’s British Grand Prix as a replacement for Sargeant.
Speaking about the Williams chance, Colapinto said: “It is an honour to be making my Formula 1 debut with Williams – this is what dreams are made of.
“The team has such amazing history and a mission to get back to the front which I can’t wait to be part of. Coming into F1 mid-season will be an enormous learning curve but I am up for the challenge, and I’m fully focused on working as hard as I can with Alex and the team to make it a success.”
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