Franco Colapinto’s abrupt smash into the walls of the Las Vegas Grand Prix circuit in qualifying may have just ended his immediate hopes of landing an F1 seat.

The Argentinean driver endured a horrific moment during qualifying in Las Vegas when a momentary lapse of concentration sent him barreling into the concrete barrier lining the track.

Franco Colapinto escapes serious injury in Las Vegas crash

Colapinto’s error was comparatively minor. Turning in slightly too early for Turn 16, a corner lined by concrete walls without an inch of leeway, Colapinto bounced his Williams off the inside wall with just enough force to rip the corner from the car and, from that moment, was merely a passenger as the energy dissipated.

It was a ferocious impact, with Williams confirming he suffered a 50G impact – the onboard replays showed his head bouncing around from side to side with the severe motion certain to, at least, give him a headache.

The impact has left Colapinto an uncertain participant in the Grand Prix itself. Following medical checks, Colapinto didn’t tend to the usual post-qualifying media duties and is, instead, resting up to give himself the best possible chance of racing.

Following an impact of such magnitude, and the obvious possibilities of concussion or unforeseen side effects, Colapinto will duly need to be fully assessed on race day to see whether he’s fit and ready to take part in such a grueling event, or whether the possibility of another serious impact so soon after this one may be endangering him.

Colapinto may be eager to take part in the race, with his opportunities to impress the rest of the F1 grid dwindling as the season enters its final two weeks, but it’s imperative that he looks after his health first and foremost, as the crash may have just put an end to any hope of securing a seat anywhere for F1 2025 anyway.

The second half of 2024 has seen Colapinto’s life transformed. From being a solid if unspectacular Formula 2 driver with a single win to his name this year, plugging away in his duties on Williams‘ driver academy, no one was expecting too much from Colapinto when he was announced as a replacement for the struggling Logan Sargeant.

But Colapinto has succeeded in ways Sargeant couldn’t. From the off, Colapinto has had a similar pace to experienced and highly-rated teammate Alex Albon and scored points in his second race, in Azerbaijan, before following them up with more in the USA.

Such successes triggered a wave of support in Argentina, where Colapinto has shot forward to become a leading sports figure and household name, with the country having had little to cheer since Gaston Mazzacane in 2001 (and that particular run wasn’t particularly celebratory either).

Colapinto’s performances have met with praise up and down the paddock, with even his own team boss James Vowles almost seeming surprised by just how strong the Argentinean has been.

“What impresses me most is how calm he is under pressure,” Vowles said.

“It’s always hard to describe what happens when you step up into Formula 1. It’s a completely different world, and the pressure mounts exponentially, yet he takes it all in his stride. You can hear it over the radio. He’s never flustered, he’s never panicked, he’s never overloaded.”

More on F1 2025 and Franco Colapinto

👉 F1 2025 driver line-up: Who is already confirmed for the 2025 grid?

👉 Explained: Who is Franco Colapinto? How the Williams reserve driver earned his F1 superlicence

But, as is usually the way in Formula 1, the pressure started to ramp up. From having no expectations and no real scrutiny on him as he stepped into Sargeant’s car at Monza, this run was supposed to be nothing more than a nine-race run to somewhat strengthen Williams’ driver line-up and see what might unfold.

To go from that to an almost immediate points scorer and appearing to rattle the cage of Albon in the space of a few weeks, it’s led to all sorts of speculation on the driver market. One rumour was that Red Bull wanted to find a way to get Carlos Sainz away from Williams, enabling Williams to run Colapinto full-time next year alongside Albon. Another was that Alpine, somehow disheartened by Jack Doohan even before the Australian makes his debut in F1, wanted to oust the Australian to get Colapinto into a seat – which would involve Alpine ‘advisor’ Flavio Briatore ditching his own driver client in Doohan.

The most serious speculation focused on Red Bull. With uncertainty over Sergio Perez’s future, Colapinto appeared to tick all the boxes. Young and fast, as well as attractive to sponsors in the South American market – a big fillip in Perez’s favour – Christian Horner was spotted heading down to Williams for a chat with team boss James Vowles for a conversation that’s understood to have been about signing the Argentinean’s services – whether that being for the main Red Bull team, or the vacant seat at VCARB, isn’t clear.

But the momentum behind Colapinto has dispersed in recent weeks. Out-qualified by Albon in Mexico and the two races in Sao Paulo, Colapinto crashed out heavily during the Grand Prix to add to Williams’ already hefty repair bill from Albon’s earlier crash in qualifying – the damage being such that Albon couldn’t even take part.

Somehow, Williams managed to scoop enough carbon fibre back together to show up ready for Las Vegas, only for Colapinto to further blot his copybook with another crash – a wholly unnecessary risk to take at a point where Williams needed some stability and calm.

It’s led to Red Bull’s interest in Colapinto waning considerably, with the mistakes showcasing his inexperience – a situation unpalatable for the possibility of slotting in alongside Verstappen. Whether or not Colapinto is fully off the table for any Red Bull involvement isn’t clear – after all, his asking price and desirability taking such a hit may not take him out of contention for the vacant VCARB seat, although it’s difficult to argue why he would be a better signing than Red Bull’s own Liam Lawson.

It was always going to be a tall order for Colapinto to find a seat on the grid for F1 2025, given the lateness of his opportunity and the limited competitiveness of the machinery under him. His strong start, minus any pressure, has been his undoing – the resulting pressure and expectation, being linked as a teammate for Verstappen – it’s all been too much, too soon, for a driver who was in relative anonymity in Formula 2 up until a few weeks ago.

F1 teams will move heaven and earth to get a generational talent into a car as quickly as possible, but Colapinto’s recent spell of form has shown he is as fallible as anyone – meaning that his rough edges are now someone else’s problem to sort. The question mark there is… who will do that? Right now, there’s no room at the inn anywhere, and Colapinto will thus have to wait patiently on the sidelines for that opportunity.

But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. What Colapinto needs to cling onto in the last two weeks of his current F1 career is that he has clearly shown he has the talent and temerity to make it in the sport. A rough-around-the-edges but lightning-fast driver is one that can be moulded and refined – natural speed is a talent that cannot be learned, and Colapinto clearly has that pace, in abundance. It’s in the mental control, the patience, the knowing when to take risks and when to play it cool – that is something that can be learned.

Rather than trying to secure an ascendancy onto the grid at breakneck speed, Colapinto needs to re-find the calm coolness with which he approached his initial races and allow that talent to shine through, free of the niggling thought that every lap is being assessed by the likes of Horner, Toto Wolff, Fred Vasseur, etc.

Should Colapinto not be cleared to race in Las Vegas, it leaves him with just two further opportunities to impress – but even succeeding in doing so will only return him to his own high benchmark from a few weeks ago. Rather than horrendous and unnecessary crashes, Colapinto must return to that baseline in order to keep himself at the forefront of every team’s mind for the next opportunity that arises – which will undoubtedly come, if he keeps his calm.

Read Next: Winners and losers from qualifying for the Las Vegas Grand Prix