Williams has announced that Franco Colapinto will replace Logan Sargeant for the remainder of the season alongside Alex Albon.

Colapinto is a member of the Williams Racing Driver Academy and made his FP1 debut at the British Grand Prix. His F2 campaign this year has seen him secure a race win in Imola and podiums in the Barcelona and Austria Feature races, as well as seven further points-scoring outings.

The 21-year-old, who will sport number 43, will become the 49th Grand Prix driver for Williams Racing, and is the first Argentine driver in F1 for 23 years and the second Argentine to drive for the British outfit, following his countryman Carlos Reutemann.

The team would like to take the opportunity to thank Logan Sargeant for his hard work and contribution over the past two seasons. He has competed in 36 Grands Prix and, at the US GP last year, became the first American driver to score an F1 point since Michael Andretti 30 years prior. Logan will remain in the Williams family and we will support him to continue his racing career.

"It is an honour to be making my Formula 1 debut with Williams," said Colapinto, "this is what dreams are made of. The team has such amazing history and a mission to get back to the front which I can't wait to be part of. Coming into F1 mid-season will be an enormous learning curve but I am up for the challenge, and I'm fully focused on working as hard as I can with Alex and the team to make it a success."

"To replace a driver mid-season is not a decision we have taken lightly," added James Vowles, "but we believe this gives Williams the best chance to compete for points over the remainder of the season. We have just brought a large upgrade to the car and need to maximise every points-scoring opportunity in a remarkably tight midfield battle.

"We also believe in investing in our young drivers in the Williams Racing Driver Academy, and Franco is getting a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate what he is capable of across the final nine rounds of the season. This is undoubtedly incredibly tough on Logan, who has given his all throughout his time with Williams, and we want to thank him for all his hard work and positive attitude.

"Logan remains a talented driver and we will support him to continue his racing career for the future. I know that Franco has great speed and huge potential, and we look forward to seeing what he can do in Formula 1."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by stoney, 30/08/2024 7:48

"@Endre - fair point. I know Toto will take any opportunity it can to stir the pot... Let's see what happens. Thanks!"

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2. Posted by Endre, 29/08/2024 12:40

"@stoney why would they rush? If there is even just a 1% chance to get Max, or just to stir the shit at Red Bull, it's worth the wait. Antonelli is already on contract."

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3. Posted by stoney, 29/08/2024 11:11

"I read elsewhere that Mercedes were not interested to loan Antonelli to William, to avoid disrupting his preparations. So slightly off-topic question, but does anyone know what is holding Mercedes back from confirming Antonelli for 2025?"

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4. Posted by BillH, 28/08/2024 17:15

"@chester
IndyCar is a very competitive championship (and good viewing too) with drivers who I'm sure would give F1 a good nudge so to speak.
A driver would need time to transition however due to the differences in car and especially tire.
Moving from F2 to F1 is tricky enough on the Italian rubber let alone coming from Firestone.
It has taken Oscar Piastri quite some time to get a handle on the F1 tire situation, with the lack of testing these days I imagine an IndyCar driver could take longer.
Then there is the circuits to learn and so on.
Perhaps if an IndyCar driver went to F2 for a year it would help however that is a big ask to go from earning a living as a driver to paying for a seat in a feeder series and the change in lifestyle.
"

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5. Posted by Chester, 28/08/2024 11:37

"Sargent had enough time to show talent. He destroyed many cars like Mick Schumacher did- and that is not tenable.

It does make me wonder whether Colton Herta would have done better than Sargent. How in the heck can we have Australian driver and Australian driver and no real American drivers? IndyCar success, to me, is enough to qualify for an F1 seat.

Something is flat-ass wrong here."

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6. Posted by ian_w, 28/08/2024 11:12

"It really was painful watching Sargent destroy car after car at the back of the pack. They already made the decision to replace him with Sainz. At that point they could have simply made an economic decision it was cheaper to park him than put the second car on track. Unfortunately the F1 regs require to cars to be entered, and it would have been embarrassing to have them pull a vertical Michelin/Indy stunt for the rest of the season!

Good on Williams for digging into their Driver Academy pool and giving new blood a chance.
"

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7. Posted by BillH, 28/08/2024 0:43

"Good to see Williams give their development / academy / reserve driver a shot rather than take a driver from another team. "

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8. Posted by kenji, 28/08/2024 0:30

"This decision was too late in the making. He should've been dismissed at the completion of last season. Costly delay that could've been averted. He was simply out of his depth in F1. Tough game."

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9. Posted by BrightonCorgi, 27/08/2024 18:35

"They had to put an end to the suffering."

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Colapinto replaces Sargeant at Williams

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