Franco Colapinto has been very quick in Formula 1 since he made his debut for Williams at the Italian Grand Prix.
The Argentine has put in some good performances, finishing in 12th place at Monza before an impressive weekend in Azerbaijan to take eighth place.
Colapinto is under pressure as he only has a contract until the end of the season with Williams and his future is uncertain heading into 2025.
He is racing at the Las Vegas Grand Prix for the first time this weekend and suffered a big crash in qualifying, which damaged his Williams.
The 50G impact stopped Colapinto from progressing into Q3, and Alice Powell told The Chequered Flag podcast something she noticed might mean he can’t compete in the race.
Alice Powell noticed Franco Colapinto walking ‘gingerly’ after the incident
Colapinto was pushing to break into the top 10 on his first visit to Las Vegas and clattered into the wall at Turn 16 which broke his left front suspension.
The car bounced into the concrete barrier on the far side of the track and the weekend in Sin City is the second consecutive event where Colapinto has crashed.
It was a significant impact for the Williams driver who has shown good speed but his pace has been held back by making rookie errors.
Powell explained she spotted Colapinto not walking freely after he jumped out of the car and he could be a doubt for the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
She said: “An impact of such magnitude means that it could be a chance he might not race tomorrow if he doesn’t pass all those medical checks.
“He did get out the car. But what I noticed when he was walking to the medical car, he was walking a bit gingerly.
“And I did catch a replay and how hard he hit that concrete barrier, actually moved the concrete blocks, the barrier by a couple of feet.”
Franco Colapinto has very few options for seats in 2025
Colapinto has been impressive after stepping up at short notice with very little track time in the car and only one FP1 session.
Williams doesn’t have space for their Argentine youngster as they are looking to step forward with Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz.
Colapinto could be at Red Bull next season although he would be under significant pressure alongside Max Verstappen at the front of the field.
If there is no seat available, staying with Williams as a third driver before more options open for 2026 may be his best option.
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