The US noticed its sole consultant among the many drivers on the Method 1 grid lose his seat on Tuesday, as Williams opted to drop Logan Sargeant for the rest of the season in favor of Method 2 racer Franco Colapinto (pictured above). It was a medical resolution, made off the again of a heavy crash in FP3 at Zandvoort that price Williams an enormous amount of cash, in addition to broken quite a lot of upgraded parts. These parts had been delayed when it comes to their introduction from a lot earlier within the yr, when Williams additionally needed to cope with a number of restore work.
To be truthful to Sargeant, he wasn’t the one one of many two drivers to crash earlier within the yr, with Alex Albon writing off a chassis in Melbourne when Williams didn’t have a spare, and subsequently being given Sargeant’s automobile because the American was withdrawn from the remainder of the weekend. However the calls for on Sargeant had been set out by staff principal James Vowles, who needed to see the 23-year-old getting nearer to Albon’s degree of efficiency regularly. Not crashing closely was taken as a given.
A yr in the past, Sargeant crashed twice through the Zandvoort weekend, as soon as in qualifying — having reached Q3 for the primary time — after which once more within the race. On the time, when you may have fast-forwarded 12 months you’d have anticipated to see somewhat extra consistency in his efficiency, and lots much less propensity to break the automobile.
So the choice was not taken solely on efficiency potential, as a result of Sargeant has proven flashes of what he can do. However with no factors this season, it was deemed time to roll the cube to see if it may discover a safer pair of palms that might concurrently improve the probabilities of scoring.
On that foundation, Colapinto didn’t high my record of anticipated replacements. Actually, uncertainty over his Tremendous License standing and the actual fact he’s solely in his first yr of F2 meant I largely dismissed his identify’s inclusion within the pool of drivers being thought-about by Williams over the weekend at Zandvoort. However the 21-year-old Argentinian has clearly impressed the staff sufficient to be deemed a more sensible choice than having Sargeant to finish the season, with each realizing that Carlos Sainz will arrive in 2025.
In that sense, the stress is off for Colapinto. It’s not an audition for a race seat, and he has nothing to lose. However his racing report would recommend he wouldn’t have pushed past his personal means within the hope of impressing both method.
Colapinto earned 4 of his Tremendous License factors for finishing an FIA championship — every of his two Method 3 seasons — with out receiving any penalty factors, a pattern he has continued this yr in F2. He’s additionally introduced the automobile house in each race bar two this season, each as a consequence of reliability points.
Colapinto’s get-acquainted classes with the Williams FW46 imply he gained’t be coming in utterly chilly. Zak Mauger/Motorsport Photos
Williams has been capable of see Colapinto’s potential by two outings in present equipment, with him finishing the Younger Driver Check in Abu Dhabi final yr after which making his FP1 debut at Silverstone again in July. On the latter event, he was 0.4s off Albon, but additionally managed 24 laps, guaranteeing he exceeded 100km with out penalty and picked up one other Tremendous License level.
Of the opposite major candidates that got here throughout the radar in current weeks, all are tied to different groups, with Liam Lawson the Purple Bull and RB reserve driver, Jack Doohan the identical at Alpine and Mick Schumacher additionally fulfilling reserve duties for Mercedes at instances. All three may theoretically have been referred to as again by their dad or mum groups if required at quick discover, leaving Williams scrambling. As an alternative, Colapinto brings a certainty that he’ll see out the season.
Williams can be following its personal mantra by backing a younger driver that has come by its academy, having signed Sargeant and positioned him in F2 earlier than selling him in 2023, and now doing precisely the identical together with his alternative.
It’s an enormous ask for Colapinto to ship performances, however he has gained at Monza on quite a few events within the junior classes, and will likely be racing this weekend on a observe that he is aware of effectively, even when that isn’t in F1 equipment.
Expensive errors when it comes to outcomes or lap time will likely be accepted for a rookie being dropped into the automobile at late discover, however the one factor Williams and Vowles will likely be telling Colapinto to keep away from is the costly mistake that closely damages a automobile.
Do this over the subsequent 9 races and Colapinto will seemingly return to F2 subsequent yr as a expertise as intently watched as Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman. Fail, and Williams can have realized lots about one in every of its high younger prospects, but additionally missed out on little given Sargeant’s lack of outcomes and the soundness to the longer term lineup that Sainz brings alongside Albon.
The staff had little to lose, however Colapinto probably has lots to achieve.
