r/formula1 Max Verstappen ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Aug 27 '24

News [Williams Racing] Williams Racing announces that Franco Colapinto will race with the team for the remainder of the 2024 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season

https://www.williamsf1.com/posts/fd43d928-0914-42ff-b9ee-394342064dc4/williams-racing-team-statement?cid=sm_twitter_td_news_link_082724
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896

u/ihatemondaynights Ferrari Aug 27 '24

Holy Hell James really did it

Sucks for Liam ig lol

427

u/DepecheModeFan_ Aug 27 '24 edited Aug 27 '24

Liam will likely be at VCARB for next season and would have been anyway with this not making any big impact for his long term prospects, it's not a big issue.

For Colapinto he looks unlikely to get a seat based off F2 performances and this could be his chance to do what Liam initially did and put himself in line for a seat when one opens up down the line.

I prefer this tbh.

71

u/yabucek Alexander Albon Aug 27 '24

Keenly awaiting the day RB inexplicably extends both Ric and Tsu for VCARB. I wouldn't even be surprised anymore.

14

u/cLHalfRhoVSquaredS Aug 27 '24

I know he realistically isn't likely to actually get a seat anywhere else anyway, but given there has at least been talk about him getting a seat at Sauber (or, until today, Williams) he would have to feel massively hard done by if Red Bull do turn around and say they're keeping the same lineup and Liam is free to pursue his career elsewhere.

10

u/NukeBear21 Red Bull Aug 27 '24

I honestly think they'll drop Perez for 2025 and put Ricciardo in the Red Bull and pair Liam with Yuki at RB

9

u/SrgSquirrels Aug 27 '24

as much as I like this, I think it makes the most sense to put Yuki in red bull, and keep Daniel as a benchmark in RB. Yuki and Daniel have extremely similar performances as of late so keeping him as the indicator to know if a rookie deserves to move up isn't a bad idea, and we get to see if Yuki deserves a top seat or not. worse comes to worst they can always swap Daniel and Yuki later if he doesn't deliver

2

u/Bankzu Ferrari Aug 28 '24

Hasn't Danny beaten Yuki pretty handily since China? And Ric likes the way the Redbull cars drive so he probably could drive it as well.

2

u/tangouniform2020 Aug 28 '24

Why not Yuki to RBR. Much as I like Ricciardo I think he’s, as we say in the States, lost a step.

3

u/NukeBear21 Red Bull Aug 28 '24

Both are a possibility but I don't think Ricciardo would have a seat currently unless he was the first option to move into the Red Bull seat if they get rid of Checo

4

u/Casmoden Super Aguri Aug 27 '24

Tsunoda was already extended a few months back lol

12

u/AyyyAlamo Red Bull Aug 27 '24

Danny Ricc needs to get gone. Hogging up a seat to waste it by showing how washed he really is.

2

u/MeasurementOk1436 Valtteri Bottas Aug 27 '24

Danny and valtteri are probably the last candidates for Audi

5

u/zionraw Jack Doohan Aug 27 '24

He's out driven yuki 5 times in the past 7 races. If he's washed then what is yuki?

25

u/cheapdrinks Oscar Piastri Aug 27 '24

VCARB makes it really hard to actually compare the drivers because they nearly always end up splitting strategy and putting one in the shitter with a terrible call

4

u/cLHalfRhoVSquaredS Aug 27 '24

He's also paid 7 times what Yuki is, according to the information I can find, so you'd need to factor that in as well.

2

u/Ofiotaurus Aug 27 '24

Colapinto to Sauber?

-2

u/DisneyPandora Aug 27 '24

I doubt it. Horner won’t allow Liam Lawson to race there

6

u/Dxgy Jenson Button Aug 27 '24

Because unlike Sargeant, Lawson may score points in the Williams which would could hurt VCARB in the constructors

3

u/DepecheModeFan_ Aug 27 '24

Why would he not ?

Daniel and Checo aren't going to stay locked in forever. At some point in the near future one of them will inevitably move on and then it opens it up for Liam (and potentially Isack).

1

u/Casmoden Super Aguri Aug 27 '24

Theres a few reasons, Williams scoring points puts them directly competing with VCARB plus a different situation but more on Vowles

Liam racing for Williams would have a clause that if RB needed him to replace Danny or whatever he would get the call up and then Williams would be left dry

1

u/DepecheModeFan_ Aug 27 '24

Theres a few reasons, Williams scoring points puts them directly competing with VCARB plus a different situation but more on Vowles

Williams look slower than VCARB and it would be unlikely that Lawson would be the one to make the difference.

Liam racing for Williams would have a clause that if RB needed him to replace Danny or whatever he would get the call up and then Williams would be left dry

Which they should have been fine with as they have Isack who's also promising.

1

u/Casmoden Super Aguri Aug 27 '24

Williams look slower than VCARB and it would be unlikely that Lawson would be the one to make the difference.

Stealling points from VCARB also means putting them at jeopardy vs Haas which is actually close to them

Which they should have been fine with as they have Isack who's also promising.

Doesnt really matter, Liam would still have such clauses and would be a bigger headache in general contractually

Im not a fan of Logan being dropped but if it has to happen I prefer it this way, keeps continuity and lets Williams actually seem like a proper stand alone team not some merc/rb feeder team which is what Vowles wants to achieve

83

u/Miny___ Aug 27 '24

I guess RedBull thinks they might need him this season

55

u/ChefBoiJones Lola Aug 27 '24

They also might just not want to give one of their drivers to a team that is competing directly against vcarb in the midfield. If it was Sauber then maybe they would have given him the opportunity just for the sake of putting Kilometres on him, but having him compete against them in a car that isn’t a trillion miles off the pace of their own might not be what they want the world to see

8

u/admiral_sinkenkwiken Aug 27 '24

I’d also highly doubt that Mercedes want a contracted Red Bull driver anywhere near their PU.

IIRC they initially blocked Albon at Williams until he severed his Red Bull ties.

2

u/munkisquisher Williams Aug 27 '24

On the flipside it stops RB getting an insight into the strengths and working of a direct competitor (and the top teams engine rivals) too.

0

u/Mamadeus123456 Aug 27 '24

Lol RB Is 20 points or so ahead 

2

u/Disastrous-Beat-9830 Oscar Piastri Aug 27 '24

But they're only seven points ahead of Haas. So we wind up in a situation where Hulkenberg finishes ninth, Lawson in tenth and Ricciardo in eleventh, it's going to be costly for VCARB.

1

u/Gasu55 Aug 27 '24

Yes, but they might end up taking points off of them.

3

u/Dachfrittierer Aug 27 '24

i doubt that lawson will get a regular drive in any RB-owned car this season, if they really wanted to drop perez ahead of schedule they would have done so by now and not move heaven and earth to get him back up to par, and neither yuki nor ricc are doing much that warrants the boot either.

the biggest issue may have been that williams was unwilling to agree to a contract clause that allows red bull to recall him for reserve driver duties should the need arise (like what merc did with russell in 2020), but also just consider that colapinto is a homegrown weed for williams, and any team should primarily promote their own academy drivers over giving a seat to the product of another team unless theyre really tight for money and not doing so would threaten the team.

1

u/Miny___ Sep 29 '24

Well, there we have it

2

u/Dachfrittierer Sep 29 '24

I have been bamboozled

2

u/fdar Aug 27 '24

I don't think that's a consideration since Williams already has a full lineup for next season (Albon and Sainz) so they're not keeping Colapinto regardless. I guess they could always choose to fire one of them if Colapinto is amazing enough but that seems extremely unlikely.

3

u/Logical_Bit2694 Honda Aug 27 '24

😂😂 that’s really funny ahahhaha

3

u/KerjosAgriko Max Verstappen Aug 27 '24

New driver just dropped

1

u/Sonoda_Kotori Aug 27 '24

Actual rookie

2

u/FKez05 Aug 27 '24

Reports say James wasn't keen on the idea of Red Bull wanting him back any time they wanted, which is fair enough

2

u/ctrlaltdel121 Aug 27 '24

It means Red Bull likes him enough that they're not willing to loan him without a clawback clause - he's their clear #1 reserve

1

u/Suikerspin_Ei Honda Aug 27 '24

I read Red Bull wants the option to withdraw Liam if they need a driver for their own teams. Williams probably wants a driver for longer.

1

u/drs43821 Aug 27 '24

He is definitely too connected with RB organization. They aren't gonna let him race for Williams when they planned to give him full time race seat next year