by Alex Johnston
Franco Colapinto will see out his year as a Formula 1 driver with Williams, but many people probably don’t know an awful lot about him.
The 21 year old will debut in Monza, stepping up from Formula 2 in what is his rookie year in the series after two previous seasons in Formula 3.
What are the key moments on the path taken by the popular Argentine?
2018 - Makes single seater debut in Spanish F4
2018 - wins first single seater race
2019 - takes Spanish F4 title, winning 11 out of 21 races
2020 - Takes third place championship finishes in Formula Renault Eurocup and the Toyota Racing Series
2021 - sixth place championship finish in FRECA
2021 samples sports cars; racing in WEC, GT series’ and Le Mans at LMP2 level
2022 - moves to FIA F3 with Van Amersfoort Racing, winning twice in his rookie season with three further podiums, ends the season ninth overall
2023 - joins the Williams Academy
2023 - returns to F3 with MP Motorsport, two wins and three further podiums, but fourth overall
2023 - F2 debut in Abu Dhabi
2023 - First official F1 test in Abu Dhabi
2024 - Wins in F2 at Imola, two further podiums - currently fifth in F2
2024 - FP1 outing at Silverstone with Williams
2024 - Announced as an F1 driver until the end of the season, replacing Logan Sargeant at Williams
📸 A short gallery of Colapinto’s career so far from Spanish F4 to F1.
The fresh faced Argentine(who has an uncanny resemblance to Ayrton Senna), becomes the first Argentine to race in F1 since Gaston Mazzacane did for Prost GP in 2001, and becomes the latest driver to debut in F1, as well as becoming the second driver Williams have given an F1 debut to at Monza in the space of three years, following Nyck De Vries.
📸 Colapinto will hope to fare better in F1 than the likes of Esteban Tuero and Gaston Mazzacane(pictured) before him.
It’s not yet known what the future will hold for Colapinto after this season with Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon locked in for 2025, but Colapinto will have the chance to prove how good he is, as if going from single seater debut to F1 debut in the space of six years wasn’t good enough!
📸 Image credits: Formula Motorsport Limited, Franco Colapinto, Formula Regional European Championship, Williams Racing.
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