Franco Colapinto went against Williams on ‘risky’ strategy call that earned him US Grand Prix point

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Williams driver Franco Colapinto only has four Grand Prix to his name, but he’s already making quite a name for himself.

After replacing Logan Sargeant following the Dutch Grand Prix, the focus was on whether Franco Colapinto had what it takes to step up from Formula 2 for the final portion of the 2024 season.

Immediately at Monza, he was within a tenth of a second of teammate Alex Albon and only narrowly missed out on scoring points despite being eliminated in Q1 that weekend.

A top-ten finish followed at the next race in Baku and Colapinto scored points at the United States Grand Prix while Albon struggled following contact with Esteban Ocon going into the first corner.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Williams Racing from team principal to Mercedes relationship

It’s the second race on the bounce where Colapinto has beaten Albon after his DNF in Singapore and he’s already out-qualified the Thai driver twice – something Sargeant only achieved in Sprint Races.

Colapinto was speaking after the race to the media, via Mundo Deportivo, and explained how he managed to score points in Austin when Albon and other much more experienced drivers didn’t.

He believes a bold call he made on his own strategy that went against the feeling within the team ultimately benefitted him.

Colapinto was only denied a fastest lap point by Ocon as well who apologised for doing so after the race, believing that the Argentinian deserved it more than he did.

Franco Colapinto’s bold strategy call that his Williams team disagreed with

Asked about how he finished in the points when Albon failed to do so, Colapinto said: “The team didn’t want to start with hard tyres, and I said: ‘Come on, come on, let’s start 15, let’s put a harder tyre and go a bit longer, let’s see what happens’.

“And they didn’t want to, they didn’t want to, but in the end I convinced them.

“Maybe next year, if I don’t have a seat, I’ll become a strategy engineer.

“I’m happy, obviously it was a bit of a risky thing to do, but it worked out well, I think because I knew and I thought we had very good pace, I wanted to be a bit more clean air to feel and to show the pace that we had.”

READ MORE: Everything to know about Williams driver Franco Colapinto with praise to stats

Colapinto started the race on the hard tyres and alongside RB’s newest driver Liam Lawson, bided their time but still kept up the pace to take advantage of a fantastic overcut.

The likes of Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda were forced to pit early to cover each other off and their fighting opened the gap for the likes of Colapinto to take advantage.

Colapinto’s result would have been even more impressive had a safety car come out towards the end of the race when he was one of the last drivers left to make his required stop.

Franco Colapinto still fighting for an F1 race seat in 2025

Frustratingly for Colapinto, no matter how good his performances are between now and the end of the season, he won’t be driving for Williams next season.

Albon will be joined by Carlos Sainz and it’s hard to argue with that decision given Sainz is a three-time race winner.

Colapinto is one name that’s been mentioned in the Sauber conversation for next year, with Valtteri Bottas and Gabriel Bortleto the other options available to Mattia Binotto.

RB still haven’t announced their second driver yet and Helmut Marko is a big fan of Colapinto.

While Lawson is expected to earn that seat, if he’s promoted to replace Sergio Perez, then a seat may still be available to the Argentinian.

The outspoken Colapinto would be a fiery teammate for Yuki Tsunoda who will be fighting for his F1 future next year.