Franco Colapinto is choosing to ignore the speculation that he could secure a race seat elsewhere in 2025, despite receiving strong praise for his performance at Williams from Lewis Hamilton at a media conference (pictured above) ahead of this weekend’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Williams elevated Colapinto to replace Logan Sargeant shortly after the summer break, and the rookie has been incredibly impressive, scoring points in two of his five races so far. With finishes no lower than 12th, Colapinto has been rumored to potentially move to RB or Stake in 2025, but he admits he is unsure if Williams would allow him to depart.
“I don’t think I should be the one asked about that,” Colapinto remarked. “I honestly don’t know, and I think if Williams cannot offer me a race seat, then the logical thing would be for them to permit me to pursue opportunities elsewhere for my future. However, I am not the right person to be questioned. I should be the last one.”
“I am here with Williams this weekend, and my focus is to give my best performance here in Brazil. It’s an exciting race with a great atmosphere, and I am looking forward to driving the Williams around Interlagos. For the future, I believe it would be a positive development. Initially, I didn’t think I would be racing in F1 next year, and that remains my initial stance, so I am not getting too caught up in the discussions.”
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Colapinto revealed that he is not paying attention to rumors suggesting that Red Bull may be interested in adding him to their driver pool.
“I would love to be in Formula 1. I arrived very late in the year and was given an incredible opportunity by Williams, by James [Vowles, team principal], Sven [Smeets, sporting director], and everyone in the team who showed a lot of trust and confidence in giving me that race seat. I got an amazing opportunity that I did not expect to have this year.
“I have been striving to do my best and achieve the best results possible to prove that I deserve to be here. That’s my goal and what I am working towards. If it’s not next year, then I hope it will be in ’26 or ’27.
“I am not feeling too much pressure or anything of the sort. I am trying to enjoy the moment, enjoy the opportunity that I have been given. It has been my dream since I was very young to drive a Formula 1 car, and now being here for these last nine races is incredibly special.”
Colapinto’s performances have not gone unnoticed by his fellow drivers either, with Hamilton praising the job the Argentine rookie has been doing and encouraging his management to leave no stone unturned in securing a race seat for him.
“I believe he has done an incredible job, entering the sport last-minute and being thrown into the deep end,” Hamilton commented. “Most of us, if we are lucky enough to join the sport, have some preparation time.
“If you look at young Kimi [Antonelli], for example, he has had many test days before his race, probably around 20 days in the car, which is unprecedented. But for this guy here, he didn’t have that luxury — he jumped right in and did a fantastic job. It’s always great to see talented young individuals getting the chance to shine, and I think he did that in his first race.”
Hamilton particularly highlighted his on-track battle with Colapinto.
“We had a great little battle — it was safe, hard, and fair, and I believe he has earned his spot here,” Hamilton said. “There’s still a seat available, and while he says it’s not up to him, my advice would be to push and give it his all.
“Ultimately, he needs to stay focused on doing his job every weekend, as he is. Hopefully, he has a good team behind him working to ensure he will be racing here next year.”
