James Vowles outlines Franco Colapinto future plans with Williams if Audi talks collapse

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Franco Colapinto has burst onto the Formula 1 scene in fine style after two impressive performances with Williams.

The 21-year-old became the first Argentinian driver to race in F1 since 2001 after he was called up from Formula 2 to replace Logan Sargeant for the remainder of the season.

In his debut race at the Italian Grand Prix, Colapinto climbed his way up the field from 18th to finish a solid 12th. At his second outing in Baku, the 21-year-old recovered from a crash in FP1 to reach Q3 in qualifying and finished the race in eighth, becoming the first Argentinian to score points since Carlos Reutemann in 1982.

Colapinto’s performances, while brilliant, have come with its complications, as Williams already have Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz lined up for the 2025 season.

However, the Argentine has caught the attention of Sauber, who are searching for Nico Hulkenberg’s teammate for 2025 and indeed 2026 when the team become Audi. With his performances at Monza and Baku, team manager Mattia Binotto ‘will no doubt’ be watching Colapinto as a decision on Sauber’s second driver nears.

James Vowles says Franco Colapinto will stay with Williams if a move to Audi does not materialise

Speaking with WSJ News, Williams team principal James Vowles has outlined his plans for Colapinto with the team if his move to Audi falls through.

The Argentine is believed to be in competition with current F2 championship leader Gabriel Bortoleto for the vacant seat. However, Valtteri Bottas is believed to be ‘on pole’ to retain his seat with the team for next year.

Vowles confirmed that he is in discussions with Audi over a potential two-year-deal for Colapinto, and that he would remain with Williams as their reserve driver if the deal collapses.

“So, Franco will always be a part of the academy and our programme irrespective anyway, because that’s one of the strengths I have. I invest in them,” he said.

“What he will be next year is if Audi don’t take him, and for transparency, we are in conversations to see if that is a route for him where he could be on the grid with them for two years.

“Then what we would do is we run a two-year-old car, which is actually the same specification pretty ch as what we’re running now. And he’d be running in that for thousands and thousands of kilometres to keep himself basically into a good shape.

“He would work with us on developing the future cars by being in our simulator and doing that testing work for us at the same time. And there were a number of racing races that we’re looking at with him so that he can keep his hand really in racing at the same time.

“He’d be our reserve driver, he’d be ready to stand by should anything happen.”

Franco Colapinto is ahead of Gabriel Bortoleto for the Sauber seat

Colapinto has taken his chance in F1 brilliantly and has proven he is a talent for the future in the sport.

In the short term, a move to Sauber does not sound too attractive, as the team are still yet to score a point in 2024. However, the project is exciting come 2026 when the new regulations come into play and Audi join the grid as a works team.

Colapinto is said to be ahead of Bortoleto for the Audi seat, which is interesting considering the latter is leading the championship in F2, while the former was sat sixth before was called up to Williams. With these statistics, Felipe Massa says Bortoleto should get the Sauber seat.

Regardless of whether he gets the Sauber drive or not, it seems that Colapinto’s future does lie in F1 in some capacity, with Vowles hinting that the Audi deal will be a loan as he plans to keep him in Williams’ academy setup.

With seven races to go in 2024 and with Williams’ new upgrades proving that they can score points, Colapinto has a fantastic opportunity to put himself as the frontrunner for the Sauber seat.