Franco Colapinto makes surprising claim about Williams crashes in front of James Vowles

Franco Colapinto certainly made an impression in his brief spell in Formula 1 – good, bad and sometimes pretty ugly.

The 21-year-old was drafted in from Formula 2 to replace the sacked Logan Sargeant from the Italian Grand Prix onwards, becoming the first Argentine to race in F1 since 2001.

Colapinto made an instant impact at the Grove-based outfit, scoring five points in his opening four races with the team – which was four more than Sargeant could manage in 36 Grand Prix.

The Argentine was beginning to apply pressure on his teammate Alex Albon as he was able to keep close to him in lap times, but the Sao Paulo Grand Prix marked a dramatic change in fortune for Colapinto.

In the torrential weather conditions, the 21-year-old destroyed his car in qualifying and the race – while teammate Albon did not even start the Grand Prix after he too crashed heavily in qualifying.

Colapinto crashed again in qualifying in Las Vegas and finished 14th in the race. He retired from the final two races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi after early collisions out of his control forced him out, marking a disappointing end to his stint with Williams.

Franco Colapinto claims he enjoyed each weekend more with Williams despite numerous crashes

In total, Williams suffered 17 crashes in 2024 which cost the team millions in damages. Williams even had to borrow Aston Martin parts to fix Colapinto’s car after his crash in Las Vegas.

But despite the magnitude of accidents this season, the Argentine told his team boss James Vowles that the enjoyment of being in F1 ‘didn’t stop’ while he was at Williams.

“It’s strange because we had some very, very, very big lows, especially last couple of races,” he said via the Williams YouTube channel.

“But at least [for] me, I think in a different team you wouldn’t do it as much or maybe you cannot even do it, but I still went into the next weekend enjoying as much as when we were doing well.

“The enjoyment didn’t stop, whilst sometimes it’s difficult to keep the motivation and keep the energy up of the team.

“I was quite surprised and it’s something I really appreciate.”

What does the future hold for Franco Colapinto in F1?

With the ‘tremendous’ signing of Carlos Sainz for 2025 alongside Albon, Colapinto does not have a seat for next season as he is likely to take a step back and become the team’s reserve driver.

The Argentine had attracted interest from Racing Bulls as they assessed their options ahead of Sergio Perez’s eventual departure, but the Faneza outfit pulled out their interest due to his multiple accidents.

The 21-year-old would have been an expensive signing for the team, with Helmut Marko saying Colapinto would not have been worth the money after the crashes he had with Williams.

But there is a chance the young talent could find his way on the grid in 2025. Alpine are working on a deal to sign Colapinto as Flavio Briatore looks to bring the Argentine to the team for next season.