Williams Racing have had a very expensive end to the 2024 Formula 1 season with Franco Colapinto and Alex Albon struggling to keep their cars on the track.
The last few races have been particularly frustrating for team principal James Vowles after a promising upturn in form when Franco Colapinto replaced Logan Sargeant.
Alex Albon scored points in back-to-back races in Italy and Azerbaijan, with Colapinto getting off the mark in Baku.
The Argentine narrowly missed out on a top-10 finish in Singapore before going one better in Austin to increase his points tally to five points.
However, Williams have now gone three races on the bounce without adding to their total.
Crashes have cost Williams millions of pounds during those events with Albon and Colapinto both suffering huge damage in Brazil.
Colapinto then had a 50G shunt at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, but even more frustratingly for the team, their rivals have all taken big steps forward.
Alpine’s incredible result in Brazil means they’re now in a three-way battle for sixth in the Constructors’ Championship with Haas and RB, leaving Williams in no man’s land in ninth.
| Position | Constructors’ Standings | Points |
| 1 |
McLaren Racing |
608 |
| 2 |
Scuderia Ferrari |
584 |
| 3 |
Red Bull Racing |
555 |
| 4 |
Mercedes-AMG Petronas |
425 |
| 5 |
Aston Martin F1 Team |
86 |
| 6 |
Haas F1 Team |
50 |
| 7 |
Alpine F1 Team |
49 |
| 8 |
Visa Cash App RB Formula One Team |
46 |
| 9 |
Williams F1 Team |
17 |
| 10 |
Sauber F1 Team |
0 |
It means Williams have their work cut out going into the final two races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, however, writing for Sky Sports F1 after the race in Sin City, Martin Brundle spotted one positive for Colapinto.
The 21-year-old doesn’t have a race seat for 2025 and needs to put in two of his best performances to date to keep himself in the conversation for the final available position on the grid.
Martin Brundle says Franco Colapinto’s clean Las Vegas Grand Prix race was ‘exactly’ what he needed
Talking about another difficult weekend for Williams, Brundle said: “In a race with no safety car or yellow flags, another retiree was Alex Albon with overheating issues in his Williams.
“Impressively the team had managed to assemble two late specification cars after the carnage of Brazil and earlier in the season, but new boy Franco Colapinto violently dismantled one of those in qualifying.
READ MORE: All to know about Williams Racing from team principal to Mercedes ties
“Colapinto would finish 14th, but the hype and support he’s immediately gathered will take some mind management for him.
“Finishing the race in one piece was exactly what the 21-year-old needed to do.”
Franco Colapinto paving the way for F1 rookies despite lack of 2025 race seat
RB are the only team yet to confirm their driver line-up for 2025 and while Colapinto has been linked with Red Bull, there’s no immediate sign that he’ll be on the grid next year.
Liam Lawson will either be retained by RB or promoted into Sergio Perez’s seat and even then, RB could call on Isack Hadjar to take the young Kiwi’s position.
That being said, even if Colapinto’s recent crashes, he’s hugely enhanced his reputation over the past few months.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Williams driver Franco Colapinto with praise to stats
He was having an impressive but not spectacular campaign in Formula 2 and Williams could theoretically run him in that series next year alongside his reserve driver role if they wish.
However, Colapinto, alongside Lawson and Oliver Bearman, have shown F1 teams this year that the rookies outside of the sport are more than capable of racing their more established colleagues.
Kimi Antonelli, Jack Doohan and Gabriel Bortoleto will join F1’s ranks in 2025 and can thank Colapinto for his role in their promotions.
