Franco Colapinto’s ‘Plan A’ revealed as Williams make late play in F1 driver market

Franco Colapinto has said his “plan A” is to stay within the Williams fold next season, though both race seats have already been signed up.

Alex Albon will be partnered by Carlos Sainz in what team principal James Vowles believes will be the best-combined driver line-up on the grid, though Colapinto’s performances in place of Logan Sargeant have impressed to the extent where he has become a reported candidate for Sauber next year.

Franco Colapinto: ‘Plan A’ is to remain within Williams fold in 2025 season

After scoring points in only his second race with Williams, team principal Vowles confirmed he has been exploring the opportunity of getting the Argentinian driver onto the Formula 1 grid in 2025, with a two-year loan deal being explored with Sauber – which will become Audi in 2026.

Vowles recently confessed the “interest is rather small” on Sauber’s side to make a move happen for Colapinto, but he remains “open-minded” to his driver heading elsewhere on the grid if it means they retain the option to keep him under the Williams brand in future.

As for Colapinto, he is thankful for his team boss for wanting to keep him in the top tier but admitted that, while he is unsure of his plans for 2025, he added he would “love” to try and gain a permanent Williams seat in the future.

“I have no idea what I’m going to do next year,” Colapinto told Autosport.

“Of course, it’s very exciting that James wants to keep me in F1, and something that I’m grateful for.

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“There are many things in F1 you need to be aware of, and many details that are tough. And he’s been helping me to be on top of all those. He was the one who helped me to make that dream come true.

“I want to stay in Williams, I love this team, and I love how they work. I think you need to be grateful and they are the first ones to give me the opportunity to be in an F1 car.

“I would love to get an opportunity in the future with this team. If not, I have no idea about options, but my plan A is to stay in the team. They invested a lot in me since I was in the younger categories, and I’m grateful for all of that.

“I’m trying to do the best I can and focus on myself. The results are starting to come, which is very positive, so let’s see what we can do in the next few races. I think there are good races for us to come.”

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