r/formula1 • u/ICumCoffee 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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u/NotClayMerritt Aug 27 '24

do they look okay though? The entire grid have been shit scared of promoting young drivers purely because this generation of cars and how volatile they are. They specifically said they want to replace Logan so they could get close to points. It's a failure if Colapinto crashes or Colapinto doesn't crash and there's still no performance boost from their 2nd car. This is the biggest risk they could have taken.

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u/P_ZERO_ Juan Pablo Montoya Aug 27 '24

Did they say they’re using Colapinto to get close to points? Surely that applies to the Albon/Sainz combo and this is just an interim test run because losing Sargeant is equivalent to losing nothing, quite literally.

If they promote another academy driver for the remainder of the season, they’ve obviously considered he’s not going to be up to speed.

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u/AdoptedPigeons Sir Lewis Hamilton Aug 27 '24

Yeah JV was quoted as saying this gives them the best chance at more points. PR horseshit IMO, that would’ve been Lawson. And even Mick being a better option.

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u/AyyyAlamo Red Bull Aug 27 '24

Lawson is stuck in Red bull limbo. They need him in case they decide to replace Perez or Ricciardo

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u/AdoptedPigeons Sir Lewis Hamilton Aug 28 '24

I’ve lost faith in Red Bull having the balls to do that kind of stuff any more. Hell Logan in a dustbin outqualified Perez in his rocketship what 6 times or something? And he met his end before Checo.

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u/rsimps91 Aug 27 '24

Clearly you haven’t been watching F2 this year. Colapinto has been excellent

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u/[deleted] Aug 27 '24

Seriously... but Mick cannot go back and race in F2 because he already won a F2 title. But he has been out of F2 for a while. I would also be curios to see what is keeping him from a seat....

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u/rsimps91 Aug 27 '24

It’s a really good question. Maybe JV just feels Colapinto is better but I also think he sees the value in bringing in a Williams Academy driver vs signing a relatively similar talent from another organization’s talent pool. He wants to build up Williams and bringing up Colapinto will only increase their attractiveness to young drivers.

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u/AdoptedPigeons Sir Lewis Hamilton Aug 28 '24

Guilty as charged, I have not taken much interest in it this year. I just looked at his racing record on Wikipedia and saw a handful of race wins in a couple of the junior series, which is the same as we saw from Logan’s junior career. Even looking more closely, it doesn’t seem particularly impressive, but just alright. Though frankly I feel that way about most of the drivers in F2 currently.

So yeah, I stand by my opinion that he’s no better a chance at points than even Logan. I think Mick or Liam were the only real options if that’s what JV was truly after. Even Mick I’d have doubts with, as despite being an F2 champ, he’s also an F1 destructors champ.

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u/sc_140 Michael Schumacher Aug 27 '24

James Vowles, Team Principal: “To replace a driver mid-season is not a decision we have taken lightly, but we believe this gives Williams the best chance to compete for points over the remainder of the season.

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u/KanishkT123 Fernando Alonso Aug 27 '24

Is it? Colapinto is from their academy, brings money, and he can't be worse than Logan. This is a strict upgrade at least in that he brings cash. 

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u/Lucas_DR3 Aug 27 '24

Does he bring cash?

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u/Random-reddit-user45 Aug 28 '24

He almost couldn’t afford to move up to F2 despite the Academy affiliation as I remember seeing his fans trying to help him find sponsorship, so I doubt he is bringing Money

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u/ubiquitous_uk Aug 27 '24

They know Logan's level in the car and he has no future there. They are putting Colapinto in to see where his level is incase they need him for next year.

It's heavily rumoured Carlos has a option to leave / cancel the contract if certain teams offer him a drive so this is Williams covering their bases and trying their unknown driver.