On October 16, long before Argentina claimed that he was going to be a Red Bull driver while the journalists covering the San Pablo Grand Prix were denied information by María Catarineu, Christian Horner and James Vowles, Franco Colapinto He came clean and said in a talk with a handful of journalists in which he was Clarion: “Everything is very complicated, there is no room in Formula 1 for ’25 for now”. Sixty-five days later, the announcement of Isack Hadjar as a Racing Bulls driver definitively closed the door for the 21-year-old Argentine driver to start the next season as a starter.
In a paddock where the laborers move starkly, the speculation of the last month was followed by 48 hours of news. The domino effect that generated the departure of Sergio Czech Pérezwho at 34 years old and after four years as Max Verstappen’s teammate, left F1 and with him did the millions of dollars contributed by the empire of Mexican magnate Carlos Slim, did not impact Colapinto because the energy drink company had already made a decision : stop spending money on outside pilots and promote those for whom you have been investing in the academy. And, in the hours before and after Pilar won his first Olimpia in motorsports and the gold Olimpia, Liam Lawson was confirmed as the new Red Bull driver and the Formula 2 runner-up as his replacement in the seat next to the Japanese Yuki Tsunoda.
The New Zealander (22 years old) and the Frenchman (20) are part of a generational replacement of the Formula 1 grid that includes another four rookies (Oliver Bearman, 19, in Haas; Jack Doohan, 21, in Alpine; Andrea Kimi Antonelli, 18, in Mercedes; and Gabriel Bortoleto, 20, in Sauber/Audi) but among those who do not include Franco, the pilot who fell in love with his freshness and self-confidence and who went out to the bull with three consecutive races (12th in the Italian GP, 8th in the Azerbaijan GP and 11th in the Singapore GP) and made such an impact with his level that it caused a wave of rumors about his continuity, despite the fact that when he assumed the commitment with Williams he knew that there was no seat available there in the immediate future due to the hiring of Carlos Sainz just a few months before.
Among those six names, only two signed multi-year contracts and another couple has experience of competing F1 grand prixalthough only one name repeats both scrolls: the English Bearmanwho this year got into Sainz’s Ferrari and was sixth in Saudi Arabia and then drove the Haas between the walls of Baku (10th) and in the rain in Interlagos (12th), so his future seems permanent more beyond its contractual relationship with the North Americans without an expiration date. Lawsondespite being linked only until the end of 2025, is the other proven youngster, with five races in 2023 and another six in 2024. The Brazilian Bortoletomeanwhile, received the trust of Sauber and, at the same time, he was left with the Latin market at his disposal after the departures of Checo and Franco despite the fact that he never competed in a race but will arrive with the title of Formula 2 champion.
Unlike them, Hadjar y Antonelli They only had free practices this year and it didn’t go very well. The Frenchman had his chance in Checo Pérez’s RB20 in Silverstone – when Colapinto also tested the Williams – and finished 19th and then, in Abu Dhabi, he got into Max Verstappen’s car and finished 15th, a second and a half behind the tip. The Italian crashed on his debut at Monza, the same weekend that Franco jumped into the Williams left behind by Logan Sargeant, and then recovered with a 12th place finish in Mexico. The case of Doohan It is different because after being a reserve driver (and was also in the first practice of the British GP), Alpine decided to put him in place of Esteban Ocon – already linked to Haas – in the last race of the year and his contract would have a performance clause to be reviewed after the first five tests of 2025.
Besides, Next year will be a year of transition towards big changes that will mark a new break in F1so it can be expected that this renewal is just the beginning, if we take into account that in addition to the current grid there are Fernando Alonso43 years old, Lewis Hamiltonwho will turn 40 on January 7, and Nico Hulkenbergwho will end the season with 38 although with the promise of being the German driver that Audi needs for its landing.
This panorama, added to being Williams’ reserve driver and the incorporation of an eleventh team starting in 2026, will open doors in the future for the Argentine who will no longer be able to wait like a Christmas gift for a seat in the next Formula season. 1. Although he will be on the lookout, not like four months ago when unexpectedly, while working in the Williams simulator in England, he was called by James Vowles to announce that he would run the last nine races of the season.
In this short period, which seemed like a captivating and dangerous roller coaster, Colapinto’s magnetism attracted fans and brands. Seeing him at the Olimpia Awards at the Usina del Arte was witnessing a rockstar at his climax. And in a wild business like Formula 1, nobody wants to lose an asset that generates that fascination and that can multiply the money invested in it. “If I don’t run, I’m definitely going to be the best reserve driver there will be.“he promised in his last interview, before learning the latest move in a game in which he hopes to have revenge.