Written by Maria Rodriguez, Edited by Gabriel Tsui
Argentina has not seen one of their own in a Formula 1 car since 2001, but that has changed with one driver.
Franco Colapinto, from the city of Pilar, Buenos Aires, Argentina, is a rising driver in Formula 2, with dreams of becoming a Formula 1 driver. He joined the Williams Driving Academy in January 2023, calling this “An unbelievable opportunity.”
Last year, Colapinto set off in the Williams FW45 at a post-season test. At this year’s British Grand Prix, he drove in FP1 in place of current Williams driver Logan Sargeant.
His practice session in Formula 1 came quickly and on short notice – a week before the British Grand Prix, the home race for Williams Racing. He represented Argentina at the highest level of motorsports.
Currently, Colapinto does not have a move into the 2025 season into F1. To avoid dwelling on that fact, he has had an impressive rookie season in Formula 2. And of course, a future in F1 is not ruled out.
Although Franco Colapinto is racing his rookie season in Formula 2, he started with a few races last year.
In 2023, he was racing in Formula 3 with MP Motorsport, finishing the season with 2 wins and 3 podiums under his name. He ended up fourth in the standings. However, for the final race of the Formula 2 season in Abu Dhabi, he replaced Jehan Daruvala.
Soon after, MP Motorsport announced him to be one of their drivers for the 2024 Formula 2 season, and it has been a successful one so far.
Colapinto had a rocky start to the season with the opening sprint race in Bahrain, finishing in P18. He has even faced a DNF in Jeddah’s feature race and a DSQ in Melbourne’s feature race.
However, amidst the adversity he faced early into the season, he turned it all around during his maiden win in the Imola Sprint race.
Colapinto started this race from P2, but fell to 3rd place after a poor start, losing the position to Amaury Cordeel as Paul Aron took 1st place. A safety car was immediately pulled into the race for an early race collision, once it went back to green flag racing, Colapinto had no struggle to retake the 2nd place.
Throughout the race, Colapinto was able to close the gap between him and Aron. He was able to get within DRS range, and the overtake for victory was in sight for Colapinto.
The stalemate lasted for a few laps but not very long, as a slight oversteer by Aron opened the window for Colapinto. On the last lap around the Tamburello corner, Colapinto overtook Aron for P1 and brought home his first Formula 2 win.
Apart from it being Colapinto’s maiden win, it was the first time a driver from Argentina was both on the podium and a winner in Formula 2, since Jose Maria Lopez in 2005.
After his win, he said, “I’m super happy, first win in Formula 2, it’s a very special day for me and for every Argentinian that has been supporting me so far. I’m super proud of the team, very proud of everyone who has been supporting me. Thank you, thank you. Thank you to all the fans and let us hope for more wins in the next few races.”
He did not stop there, as he scored an additional two podium finishes this season in feature races at Barcelona and Austria. In addition to that, Colapinto has a few points finishes that have brought home significant points, lifting him to 6th in the Formula 2 standings as of late.
With the summer break approaching there are 4 rounds left and the hopes of winning more races are extremely high. Franco Colapinto holds immense talent, and only time will tell what is next for the Argentine driver.
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