Williams set to give 20-year-old first taste of F1 action in post-season test in Abu Dhabi

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Williams are set to hand young star Franco Colapinto his first taste of driving a Formula 1 car in the post-season test in Abu Dhabi this week.

The F1 season might have finally ended yesterday, but the teams still have plenty of work to do.

Soy Motor share the list of drivers who will be taking part in the final action of the year.

Many of the drivers who took part in the first practice session in Abu Dhabi return for another shot at driving a Formula 1 car.

The likes of Pato O’Ward, Robert Shwartzman and Frederik Vesti will all be involved once again.

Vesti comes into the test in top form after narrowly missing out on chasing down Theo Pourchaire for the F2 title.

The big gap in between the penultimate race at that level in Monza and the finale in Abu Dhabi took the momentum out of the excitement in that series.

However, it also gave a few teams the chance to move on some of the weaker drivers for races being promoted from Formula 3 ahead of the 2024 campaign.

Franco Colapinto is one of those drivers and he made his F2 debut in a Williams-liveried MP Motorsport car in the latest test in the 20-year-old’s career.

He was signed up by Williams to join their academy at the start of the year and a very strong second campaign in Formula 3 has seen him make the next step up.

The Argentinian has plenty of competition before he can think about an F1 drive but will be afforded his first action behind the wheel of the FW45 this week.

Colapinto to star for Williams in F1 post-season test

The testing is split into two parts, with some drivers working alongside Pirelli to help them gather data ahead of the 2024 season.

The other part of the test allows young drivers to gain some valuable experience in the car.

Colapinto will be sharing those duties with Zak O’Sullivan, who was given his F1 debut in Friday’s practice session.

Asked about his inspiration for getting into motor racing, Colapinto said: “I am looking forward to following in the footsteps of my fellow countryman Carlos Reutemann.

“It’s an incredible opportunity for which I am forever grateful.

“Even though he raced a long, long time ago in Formula 1, he won five world titles. He’s one of the references in Argentina, he started our history in racing and made motorsport a lot stronger in the country.

“He’s one of the guys I look at as a reference, trying to learn the history and he’s one of my influences.”

With Logan Sargeant’s future at Williams hanging in the balance, Colapinto will be keen to impress during this week’s test.

While he won’t be on James Vowles’s radar for a seat in Formula 1 just yet, he needs to make sure he’s the best option available within the team going forward.

That means beating young Brit Zak O’Sullivan in Formula 2 next year as well, with current test driver Mick Schumacher heading into the WEC in 2024.