Franco Colapinto jokes Williams ‘are going to kill me’ for complaint over what ‘not even Cristiano Ronaldo’ can do

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Franco Colapinto has enjoyed a fantastic start to his Formula 1 career but has risked the wrath of Williams after publicly complaining about the team as it hurts his fans.

The 21-year-old was not expected to see an F1 grid for potentially a few more years right up until Williams team principal James Vowles decided to axe Logan Sargeant. Colapinto was in the right place at the perfect time to then record his debut in Formula 1 as a Williams junior.

Colapinto signed for the Williams Driver Academy in January 2023 before a second season in Formula 3. With the Grove natives’ backing, the Argentine secured fourth in the standings and graduated to Formula 2 – where Colapinto took one win in 20 races before his F1 debut.

Franco Colapinto jokes Williams are ‘going to kill me’ for urging his fans to buy fake merchandise

Vowles’ decision to replace Sargeant after a crash in FP3 for the 2024 Dutch Grand Prix and promote Colapinto to a Formula 1 seat with Williams has since been totally vindicated. After three races in the pinnacle of motorsport, Colapinto has obliterated what Sargeant realised.

But while Colapinto scored four points with P8 in the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix – eclipsing the one point Sargeant fortuitously scored through 37 entries – the Buenos Aires native has now risked Williams’ wrath by hitting out at the price the team charges for F1 merchandise.

The official Williams store charges £47 for a standard adult-size team t-shirt, £59 for a polo, £81 for the hoodie, £27 for a team cap and £31 for an Alex Albon cap. Williams also put their first set of Colapinto-specific merchandise on sale for fans at their Fan Zone in Austin, Texas.

Williams do not have Colapinto-specific items available to buy online but listened to fans all over the world pleading for merchandise by releasing some before the United States Grand Prix. But Williams’ pricing annoyed Colapinto, who jokingly offered some advice for his fans.

Colapinto told Corazon: “Williams set a price that not even Cristiano Ronaldo can buy. Then the Argentines go crazy and make them out of stock. They leave them without stock and then we’re eating rice for two months, dude.”

“Buy the fake stuff, the cheap ones,” Colapinto continued, before clarifying: “Nothing. Better buy Williams stuff, buy Williams stuff! They’re going to kill me, me promoting the fake stuff.”

Franco Colapinto needs Williams to lower their terms for a loan spell at Sauber/Audi

Argentina has long had a rich passion for Formula 1 but had to wait more than two decades for one of their own to hit the grid again when Colapinto made his debut for Williams in the Italian Grand Prix of 2024. Gaston Mazzacane was the previous Argentine F1 driver in 2001.

Yet Colapinto was an instant hit on the Formula 1 grid. His P8 in Baku even saw the Williams junior become the first Argentine driver to score points in a Grand Prix since the 1982 South African Grand Prix when Carlos Reutemann secured second place while driving for Williams.

Yet despite his instant success as Albon’s teammate and smashing what Sargeant achieved, Colapinto’s hopes for an F1 drive in 2025 hinge on Audi loaning the Argentine from Williams for Sauber. Carlos Sainz will join Williams on a multi-year contract in 2025 to partner Albon.