Franco Colapinto is set to make his Formula 1 debut this weekend in the Italian Grand Prix, having replaced Logan Sargeant at Williams for the rest of the season.
The 21-year-old has been a Williams Academy driver since his second F3 campaign in 2023 and follows in the footsteps of countrymen Juan Manuel Fangio, Carlos Reutemann and Gaston Mazzacane, the most recent Argentinian to feature on the F1 grid in a short-lived career between 2000-01.
Born in Buenos Aires on 27 May 2003, Colapinto began his karting career aged 10, competing predominantly in his home country until 2017, when he made the move to Europe. In a largely middling chapter to his career, Colapinto ended his time in karts with victory in the 2018 Youth Summer Olympics.
In the same year as his karting stint came to a close, Colapinto entered the F4 Spanish Championship for the first time, competing for Drivex School. Finishing ninth in his first campaign, he followed this up by claiming the title in 2019 while making occasional outings in Euroformula Open and the Formula Renault Eurocup.
The following season was a positive year as he finished third overall in both Formula Renault Eurocup and the Toyota Racing Series but made the forced switch to sportscars in 2021 due to budget constraints.
That season he raced in the Asian and European Le Mans Series, as well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
It is only in the past three years that Colapinto has been able to press ahead with his F1 pursuit, joining the F3 grid with Van Amersfoort Racing in 2022 and taking two race wins and a ninth-placed championship finish.
He switched to MP Motorsport for a second year in the category in 2023, where he scored a further two victories en route to fourth overall. This was also the year that he signed on as a Williams Academy driver, a move that has now paid huge dividends.
Making his F2 debut at the 2023 season finale in Abu Dhabi, Colapinto also got his first F1 experience at the venue driving in the post-season test.
After making a slow start to the 2024 F2 season, Colapinto came into his own following an in-season test in Spain, winning the sprint race at Imola and becoming a regular challenger at the front.
More recently, being caught out by red flags in qualifying in Hungary and an engine failure at Spa all but ended his faint championship hopes.
During this time, Colapinto completed FP1 at the British Grand Prix, allowing him to get acquainted with the Williams FW46.
One constant throughout his career has been an overall lack of crashes or retirements. Across his entire F2/F3 spell, in fact, Colapinto has suffered only four race-ending collisions, with his sole F2 instance being a minor wall tap in Saudi Arabia, which broke his rear suspension.
However, with only a single FP1 appearance to his name, there will rightly be questions whether Colapinto is ready to make the step up to F1 as he prepares to race at Monza this weekend.
