Williams Racing driver Franco Colapinto had another difficult weekend at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
After a destructive Sunday of action at the previous race in Sao Paulo, Williams had to work overtime to get both cars ready for the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Jenson Button was left impressed by Williams as they shared how they managed to get both cars ready during the three-week break.
However, that didn’t lead to the successful weekend that the team would have hoped for.
Alex Albon failed to get out of Q1 after struggling to get his tyres up to temperature on a crowded warm-up lap.
Franco Colapinto did get through to Q2 and was pushing to join the top 10 shootout before a huge 50G impact heading onto the back straight.
Colapinto looked dazed getting out of his Williams and after the race suggested that he suffered a concussion as a result of the shunt.
Speaking after the race, via Motorsport, the Argentine said: “I didn’t speak to anyone, we couldn’t speak to anyone, I didn’t even speak to Formula 1.
“I had a concussion and they told me I couldn’t speak to anyone [of the journalists], they sent me to the hotel in shock, I wasn’t that sad.”
Now, F1 insider and photographer Kym Illman has spoken on his YouTube channel about how Williams managed to get his car prepared for the race weekend in Las Vegas.
It turns out Williams needed a helping hand from their £1.5bn-valued rivals Aston Martin.
Williams borrowed parts from Aston Martin to build Franco Colapinto’s car at the Las Vegas Grand Prix
Talking about the 21-year-old’s race weekend, Illman said: “Let’s touch on Franco Colapinto, he was ruled OK to drive after his big crash in qualy on Friday.
“The car was rebuilt and I’m told by two sources that Williams actually had to borrow parts from Aston Martin in order to get the car ready.
“In fact, I believe they borrowed the parts prior to the accident.
READ MORE: All to know about Aston Martin F1 Team from team principal to lineage
“I guess that’s something as a fan or as someone watching the sport you don’t often think about, where do these parts come from?
“And I understand that the rear of the Aston Martin is the same or close to the same as the Williams.”
Franco Colapinto’s F1 chances dwindling after expensive race weekends
With just one race seat left on the grid for 2025, Colapinto is looking less and less likely to be racing in F1 after the upcoming winter break.
Colapinto has been linked with Red Bull and Sergio Perez’s performance in Las Vegas was far from convincing.
However, Colapinto is making too many mistakes to be an obvious upgrade on the Mexican driver currently in possession of the Red Bull seat.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Williams driver Franco Colapinto with praise to stats
Liam Lawson could be promoted into Perez’s position and if that were the case then Colapinto would be under less pressure should RB pick him up instead.
Red Bull could give F2 star Isack Hadjar his chance in that scenario and Williams wouldn’t be against holding onto Colapinto as reserve driver.
The 21-year-old is undeniably talented and very fast, but he still has a few issues he needs to iron out before making the step up into a full-time race seat elsewhere next season.
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