Franco Colapinto proves Alex Jacques wrong despite ‘phenomenal’ evidence

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Franco Colapinto has driven superbly at Williams alongside Alex Albon since making his Formula 1 debut at the Italian Grand Prix.

The Argentinian driver was brought in to replace Logan Sargeant, who was consistently slower than Albon and cost the team a lot of money in crash damage.

Colapinto has been a significant improvement and has scored points in two of the four F1 Grand Prix he so far has competed in.

The Williams prospect is also knocking on the door of becoming a full-time Formula 1 driver for the 2025 season with Sauber, who are looking for Nico Hulkenberg’s teammate.

There are even rumours Colapinto could join Red Bull for next year, replacing the underperforming Sergio Perez who is costing the team crucial points in the constructors’ championship.

But Colapinto wasn’t scintillating during his half-season in Formula 2 this year, although he showed quality in key moments such as passing Paul Aron to win the Sprint Race at Imola.

The Argentinian has also proven Alex Jacques wrong in the early stages of his F1 career, which the commentator has explained on the F1 Nation podcast.

Franco Colapinto has surprised Alex Jacques as he didn’t think he could perform consistently

Colapinto has been impressive in his first four rounds in F1, scoring his first points in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix which is a notoriously difficult street track to learn.

He hasn’t looked out of his depth despite being parachuted into the Williams team halfway through the year, when the rest of the field are much sharper.

READ MORE: What Franco Colapinto and Fernando Alonso were spotted joking about after the US Grand Prix

The Williams driver has also been brave in wheel-to-wheel combat, passing double world champion Fernando Alonso at the United States Grand Prix in a superb overtake.

Yet Jacques explained on the F1 Nation podcast that Colapinto’s consistency has surprised him after following his junior career.

He said: “He has always been quick, but I got to say, I followed his exploits in Formula 3 [and] commentated on him this year in Formula 2.

“I didn’t think he could do it week-in, week-out immediately. Why? Because the evidence of his career was that he would have phenomenal weekends of pace and then next week, you wouldn’t see him.

“You wouldn’t get a minute of screen time. I sometimes think this about elite sportspeople in general. Some people, you give them the big stage and they find their true performance. It’s like he’s born to race in Formula 1.”

Franco Colapinto is a contender to race full-time in Formula 1 next season

The 21-year-old could be a Sauber driver next season alongside Hulkenberg, and his impressive performances despite being so inexperienced may help him secure the seat.

Colapinto would be safer for Sauber than Gabriel Bortoleto, who is also in contention. He is the more experienced of the pair in F1 with the McLaren junior yet to race in the series.

But the Argentinian driver needs to keep up his good form and deliver positive results, as well as out-performing his Williams teammate Albon.

Colapinto also has a lot of support in his native Argentina, which may attract a lot of sponsors to any team he drives for in 2025.