For a long time, all signs in the sky and on earth indicated that Logan Sargeant would not be able to keep his place until the end of the 2024 season. After all, even before the round in Imola, there was speculation about his possible replacement by Kimi Antonelli, but at that time he defended his position.
However, this did not happen before the second competition in Italy. The American’s fate was sealed by Saturday’s massive crash in Zandvoort, which prevented him from taking part in qualifying. From then on, the change in the Williams camp was practically a foregone conclusion, and the media wondered who would step into Logan’s shoes.
It seemed that the fight for this would be decided between Mick Schumacher and Liam Lawson. However, since the British did not reach an agreement with Red Bull, and Alpine confirmed the German’s starts in the WEC series, they had to look for another alternative.
Just before the official announcement, Erik van Haren of De Telegraaf surprisingly announced that the choice had fallen on Franco Colapinto, who had been making a lot of noise in the Argentine press since morning. The formal announcement was made at 6:00 p.m., which means that the 21-year-old will race with the number 43 in the remaining nine races of the 2024 season.
Colapinto has been a product of the British junior academy since 2023. During that time, he managed to win 4th place in the F3 championship and drive the FW45 during post-season testing in Abu Dhabi. This year, he made his official debut in the pinnacle of motorsport during the first practice session at Silverstone:
“It’s an honour to make my F1 debut with Williams. Dreams come true. The team has such an incredible history and a mission to return to the top. I can’t wait. Entering F1 during the season will be a learning curve. But I’m up for the challenge and fully focused on working hard with Alex and the team to succeed,” said the Argentine.
Williams also thanked Sargeant for his work as a full-time driver. What’s more, the American will remain with his British family, who will help him further develop his racing career.
