America 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 scientific determination, made off the again of a heavy crash in FP3 at Zandvoort that value Williams an enormous amount of cash, in addition to broken quite a lot of upgraded parts. These parts had been delayed by way of their introduction from a lot earlier within the 12 months, when Williams additionally needed to cope with numerous restore work.
To be honest to Sargeant, he wasn’t the one one of many two drivers to crash earlier within the 12 months, 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when Williams didn’t have a spare, and subsequently being given Sargeant’s automobile because the American was withdrawn from the remainder of the weekend.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 group principal James Vowles, who wished to see the 23-year-old getting nearer to Albon’s stage of efficiency frequently. Not crashing closely was taken as a given.
A 12 months in the past, Sargeant crashed twice throughout 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, in the event you may have fast-forwarded 12 months you’d have anticipated to see a bit extra consistency in his efficiency, and quite a bit 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 arms that might concurrently enhance the possibilities of scoring.
On that foundation, Colapinto didn’t prime my checklist of anticipated replacements. Actually, uncertainty over his Tremendous License standing and the actual fact he’s solely in his first 12 months of F2 meant I largely dismissed his identify’s inclusion within the pool of drivers being thought of by Williams over the weekend at Zandvoort. However the 21-year-old Argentinian has clearly impressed the group sufficient to be deemed a better option 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 12 months in F2. He’s additionally introduced the automobile dwelling in each race bar two this season, each as a result of reliability points.
Colapinto’s get-acquainted periods with the Williams FW46 imply he gained’t be coming in fully chilly. Zak Mauger/Motorsport Photos
Williams has been capable of see Colapinto’s potential by way of two outings in present equipment, with him finishing the Younger Driver Check in Abu Dhabi final 12 months after which making his FP1 debut at Silverstone again in July. On the latter event, he was 0.4s off Albon, but in addition managed 24 laps, guaranteeing he exceeded 100km with out penalty and picked up one other Tremendous License level.
Of the opposite fundamental candidates that got here throughout the radar in latest weeks, all are tied to different groups, with Liam Lawson the Pink Bull and RB reserve driver, Jack Doohan the identical at Alpine and Mick Schumacher additionally fulfilling reserve duties for Mercedes at occasions. All three may theoretically have been known as again by their mum or dad groups if required at brief discover, leaving Williams scrambling. As a substitute, Colapinto brings a certainty that he’ll see out the season.
Williams can also be following its personal mantra by backing a younger driver that has come by way of its academy, having signed Sargeant and positioned him in F2 earlier than selling him in 2023, and now doing precisely the identical along with his substitute.
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 properly, even when that isn’t in F1 equipment.
Expensive errors by way of 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 following 9 races and Colapinto will seemingly return to F2 subsequent 12 months as a expertise as carefully watched as Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman. Fail, and Williams may have realized quite a bit about certainly one of its prime younger prospects, but in addition missed out on little given Sargeant’s lack of outcomes and the steadiness to the longer term lineup that Sainz brings alongside Albon.
The group had little to lose, however Colapinto doubtlessly has quite a bit to achieve.
