In the round-up: James Vowles says Franco Colapinto is worthy of the final seat on the 2025 grid
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In brief
Colapinto “best available option” for final seat
Williams team principal James Vowles believes rookie driver Franco Colapinto deserves the final seat on the 2025 grid based on his performances over his first three grands prix with the team.
Colapinto has impressed since being called up by Williams to replace the struggling Logan Sargeant. Williams had already confirmed their 2025 driver line-up before offering Colapinto a race seat, but Sauber are the last team yet to announce their two driver line-up for next season.
“What Franco brings is to give us this pure performance – no doubt about it, he can drive the socks off this car,” Vowles told the official F1 channel. “What I would say is Franco is deserving of a place in Formula 1.
“I think Franco is, if he is not directly in a seat in 2025, the best option that is available to everyone up and down the field – ourselves included, [given that] you can’t predict what’s going to happen – Our responsibility towards him is making sure we’re doing testing in a historic car, making sure that he’s here working with us, that we keep him as best placed as we possibly can such that, if opportunity arises, he can take it.
Sharp to step up to F3 with Rodin
Rodin has announced that 2023 British F4 champion and reigning GB3 champion Louis Sharp will race with them in next year’s Formula 3 championship.Sharp took the British F4 title with Rodin last year with six wins before moving to the GB3 championship with the same team for this year. Having secured that title, the 17-year-old will now move up into the Formula 3 championship for 2025.
“Though I’m still coming to terms with what I’ve achieved winning back-to-back titles, I’m already starting to concentrate on what’s ahead,” said Sharp. “I’m really looking forward to be racing alongside grands prix in 2025 and will do everything I can to maintain my current momentum. I’m now looking forward to starting my F3 preparations later this month in Spain and confident both the team and I will be ready when the lights go out in Australia.”
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Links
Johnny Herbert breaks silence on Max Verstappen ‘swearing’ saga at F1 in Singapore (Independent)
''The incident was referred to us as stewards and we had a good open chat with Max for about 20 minutes, half-an-hour, in what was a difficult situation. You could see in his face he was really worked up about it. But when he left, he appeared to be mollified about the process and why it’s there. He did not blame us as stewards.That showed Max’s rebellious streak. I love that side of him, it is what makes Max, Max, his honest and outspoken character. But there is a time and a place. Personally, I think there is too much swearing. I don’t want my five-year-old grandchild listening to that sort of language.''
Christian Mansell on his 2024 season: Achieving the maximum makes for a successful year (F3)
''I think I was a bit timid in (2023), but to be honest, it made me really push hard in the ART car to get on top of it as quick as possible. I put pressure on myself to get it right. It was a healthy amount of pressure, it worked really, really well, I wasn't overdoing it or over-stressing myself, but I managed get on top of it. I can be proud of myself, because sometimes, the ART car wasn't the fastest, and sometimes it was the fastest, and I just drove the maximum of the car every single time, and what you saw was what it was. I think that I can be very proud of that.''
How Warren Hughes is helping McLaren guide Alex Dunne (Formula Scout)
''It’s just dipping in and out where I feel it can be of support to him. It might just be somebody for him to sound off to and be a sounding board. ‘What do you think about this? What sort of track position do I need to get a slipstream?,’ for example. Just general guidance. We’re talking about tracks, looking at onboard stuff and the tracks are evolving all the time, whether its resurfacing or the kerbs changing, so it keeps me very current on multiple tracks, how they’ve evolved in the last couple of years.''
McLaren MP4-25A test at Silverstone (Jonathan Hui via YouTube)
'Hong Kong racing driver Jonathan Hui gets the opportunity to drive a 2010 McLaren F1 car around Silverstone.'
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Notable posts from X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and more:
Celebrating the newly engaged 😘
In the very best place as well @MonteCarloSBM pic.twitter.com/me49x4XZqW— Charles Leclerc (@Charles_Leclerc) October 4, 2024
Meeting the family 😁🫶#HaasF1 pic.twitter.com/OcXkxHd5Lc
— MoneyGram Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) October 4, 2024
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- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Comment of the day
If Lando Norris is unable to overhaul Max Verstappen’s championship lead over the rest of the season even if McLaren’s performance advantage over Red Bull remains, Nerrticus believes the clash between the pair in Austria will prove pivotal…
Austria is the true inflection point of this championship. That Max was able to bring a punctured vehicle around three quarters of the track and still finish fifth, while Lando had to retire, is the stroke of luck that could preserve his title reign.
That’s a 17-point swing between what should have happened (a Lando victory with Max second) and what actually happened. That’s a lot of extra pressure Lando was unable to apply to Max.
If the title chase comes to Abu Dhabi and Lando falls short, Hungary and Monza (where McLaren should have swapped second and third) will get the attention, but Austria is where the title was truly lost.
Nerrticus
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Cholle, Yorricksfriend, Jason Sultana and Ddoc!
An Sionnach
5th October 2024, 2:06
I wonder who Colapinto could replace on the current grid…
Zhou
Bottas
Stroll
Magnussen
Tsunoda
Pérez
Albon
Are Doohan, Antonelli and Bearman this good?
Every team bar Ferrari and McLaren should be interested in Franco for 2025.
Jere (@jerejj)
5th October 2024, 6:48
Realistically, none at this point anymore, not to mention all other teams have other drivers in priority & everything set for next season.
Nick T.
5th October 2024, 8:59
I like him, but Doohan is a bizarre choice. Really doesn’t have a resume remotely deserving of an F1 driver. It felt like another dumb Renault pride thing. They didn’t want another team’s driver when they couldn’t get who they wanted.
-Zhou and Magnussen are already gone.
-Perez and Stroll should be gone.
-Bottas is good enough to have a seat, but he’s had his time and he’s not the right guy for the Audi seat right now.
As for Albon, I was always shocked people began rating him so highly. He was doing a solid job, but people began talking about him as one of the top drivers in the sport. That was bizarre.
SteveP
5th October 2024, 10:14
So, there’s your solution: Sainz/Colapinto for race days and Albon for some solid test work.
An Sionnach
6th October 2024, 0:21
Yes, although if Albon is beaten by the end of the season it might be better to pay him off and have him away from the team. Reality doesn’t always show its face at the most convenient times and Vowles needs to do what’s right for the team.
An Sionnach
6th October 2024, 0:14
I wonder if Williams and RB have been wasting their time upgrading their cars when they should have changed their drivers?
An Sionnach
6th October 2024, 0:24
Teams seem to like choosing their own drivers, like Williams with Sargeant. Since he struggled a bit to get into F1 that should have told them all they needed to know. If someone has gone up through the ranks with the team’s support but not shown that they deserve to be in F1, the team doesn’t owe them anything. Not an F1 seat, anyway.
HAL
6th October 2024, 12:12
Why do you say that ? He has a good resume… Karting champion, he finished 2nd in f3 and 3rd in F2 (knowing he had a cracked chassi for the first 1/3 of the year – he was the best performer in the rest of the champtionship.
There are more impressive credential, but it is quite decent. It’s in fact better than Olie Bearman’s resume…
Nick T.
6th October 2024, 17:13
There are plenty of easily accessible video and articles breakdowns of his junior career that include the cracked chassis that cover why his junior career, while solid, normally wouldn’t get an driver into F1.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
5th October 2024, 9:30
These days, every F1 driver has to fulfil a seat-specific role, not just race. Franco’s definitely fast enough to have a seat, the problem is figuring out where. It is likely to take until 2026 for someone to be able to answer the question.
Nick T.
6th October 2024, 17:14
+1
There are always a lot more considerations going into who gets these seats than just “is he the fastest driver on the market” even if, we as fans, would typically like that be the deciding factor.
Dex
5th October 2024, 14:24
Why anyone? It’s a big question if he can be better than Albon, and Albon is of very questionable quality. He’s competent, but so would be 20 other drivers from the queue. Every single replacement driver gets hyped, but why? I doubt that he’s better than Bottas, and Sauber doesn’t need long term commitment from any of the remaining options. They do, however, need some input that total beginner cannot provide. Neither he, nor Lawson look like some miracles, and same goes for Bearman (who had maybe three good races in his F2 career).
Nick T.
6th October 2024, 17:17
I agree with you that all of these subs and replacements get 5x the hype they deserve, especially OB and LL. I think the difference in Sauber’s case is that Audi, from all angles (staff, sponsors and fans) needs some positivity and excitement injected into the team. Bottas pretty much provided the opposite of that. Also, while nothing can be proven at this point, my intuition tells me that FC has more pure potential than LL, OB, JD, etc.
Jere (@jerejj)
5th October 2024, 6:47
James Vowles may say so, but Toto would say the same about Mick or Stella about Bortoleto, etc., so a totally subjective claim.
Ultimately none of these matter as Bottas is effectively all but confirmed to stay put & from what I read over the recent days is that while he mightn’t have signed yet, the contract is written & going through lawyers to be sign-ready, so only a matter of time within the remaining interval until the next round until the official announcement finally comes.
Generally, teams & drivers wouldn’t bother going as far as everything being almost completed & signing-ready if they weren’t going to finish the process anyway, so too late for any other driver to have a concrete chance this late anymore, especially Colapinto, given how late any third-party even mentioned him as a mere suggestion, not to mention Bortoleto has been mentioned more & even his situation hasn’t seemed concrete based on Stella’s words.
Colapinto will almost certainly be a regular test/reserve driver for Williams next year, side racing program or not, & the same for Bortoleto with McLaren.
The sooner the long-awaited announcement about Sauber’s second 2025 driver comes, the sooner these annoying speculations & claims can stop for good.
If Johnny Herbert doesn’t want his grandchild to hear F1 drivers swearing, he could easily ensure that doesn’t happen.
MP4-25A? No such version exists/existed, so I don’t get the A reference.
I struggle to figure out who’s the ‘newly engaged’ in the tweet image.
This isn’t the first time I see Charles wearing glasses, which is one of those examples I struggle to figure out, even though I normally easily realize the purpose for anyone wearing glasses if it either only happens or doesn’t happen for given obvious situations.
COTD: indeed.
On this day in F1: The belatedly fatal accident is still sad even ten years later, & I don’t think anyone, or at least not me, realized the situation’s seriousness immediately after the world feed coverage switched to the JCB & his car.
While this fatal accident may have easily been avoided by an SC deployment, his situation speed for double-yellows was also a direct contributor, even if partly because double-yellows had never been truly enforced by that point in time, or at least not for a long time.
notagrumpyfan
5th October 2024, 7:44
Hardly subjective if we can observe both in the same races.
So far Colapinto has proven to be much better in the races than Bottas (his only real competitor for the last available seat), and given Sauber’s performance over the past years, I cannot believe he can be much worse than any of their current drivers in development feedback to the engineers or car set-up.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
5th October 2024, 7:48
Indeed, not many realised that, even the sky commentators didn’t.
MichaelN
5th October 2024, 7:52
No, it was far worse. The race director had put a figure on his interpretation of what “slow eough to stop” meant, and it was measured in tenths of a second below a drivers fastest time. He should have been sacked the second he pressed Print on that ridiculous document.
Ideals
5th October 2024, 8:17
“This driver is so great even I would not take him” is just about the most empty and meaningless recommendation you could give a driver.
Nick T.
5th October 2024, 9:06
Uh, wow seen a lot of these genius comments lately. You realize Vowles signed ironclad contracts with Sainz and Albon just a few weeks before Colapinto even got his first chance let alone knew his potential, right? While I would prefer FC to AA, I’m not sure why people make clueless comments like this.
RE: Mick-Toto comparisons. This is absolutely nothing like that situation. Toto could have signed him. Could have likely gotten him a seat if felt so strong. And we had all seen what Mick could do. So, it was always a joke.
Moreover, I feel like Vowles is only hurting FC’s chances by constantly saying this stuff. Just as, at a certain point, Toto “big-up’ing” Mick just made Mick look even more like a charity case rather than boosting people’s estimations of him.
Ideals
5th October 2024, 9:10
If only Colapinto had become a junior Williams driver before they signed Sainz, they could have saved themselves quite some money.
Jere (@jerejj)
5th October 2024, 9:32
Ideals He was already with them, so I guess you mean if he’d replaced Sargeant earlier in the season, the situation for next season could be different regarding Sainz.
dot_com (@dot_com)
5th October 2024, 14:02
So, for you, this is an adequate solution? Either deal with the swearing or don’t watch?
notagrumpyfan
5th October 2024, 7:45
Listening for 20-30min to Herbert should be enough of a community service ;)
Nick T.
5th October 2024, 9:07
Seriously. I’d rather do dental work on myself.
BenHur
5th October 2024, 10:58
H3ll is a place on Earth
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
5th October 2024, 8:04
I think going to Sauber next year would kill Colapinto’s career. There’s no chance that car is going to be capable of anything and if you’re stuck driving a hopeless car, your value drops massively. I think it’d be better to not drive and wait in the sidelines while people remember your excellent stint at Williams than compete with your team mate to see who can finish 19th.
Nick T.
5th October 2024, 9:08
Not if he beats Hulkenberg.
anon
5th October 2024, 9:35
Would you expect Colapinto to beat Hülkenberg? I’d pick Hülkenberg over Sainz – let alone over Colapinto. His debut has been impressive but he has only driven two races so far and his measuring stick has been Albon who I see as a Magnussen-calibre driver.
Nick T.
5th October 2024, 9:45
Beat or be close. I know some of you rate Hulkenberg extremely high. He’s good, but given FC’s age advantage and the fact that every super star driver showed they were a potential champion as a rookie, if he can’t impress enough next to a known quantity then he’s lost his career fair and square. If he were going up against someone like Yuki who no one on the grid can seem to decide where he’s at, then I’d agree going to Sauber would be a much bigger risk. But in the end, these opportunities are so fleeting you can’t sit around on the sidelines simply because it’s not an ideal situation to showcase your driving.
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
5th October 2024, 14:19
I think Hulkenberg has been rated highly because of how bad we remember the Haas being, and then that significantly improving and being against a weak team mate.
Bottas comfortably beats every team mate he’s ever been against other than Hamilton, and now it seems many would rate him as far worse than Hulkenberg. When they were both in midfield cars, Bottas and Perez were the one getting podiums and more impressive results. Hulkenberg has had plenty of good results this year, but also quite a few mistakes as well as several very underwhelming races where one of the worst drivers on the grid has clearly looked a lot better.
Admittedly Bottas has had a couple of worse performances recently, but I would say it certainly isn’t obvious that Hulkenberg would beat Bottas if they are team mates next year. For the ability of their cars, I could almost say Bottas has been as good as Hulkenberg this year, as he hasn’t had the level of mistakes.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
5th October 2024, 14:39
Ben, good point about bottas, I know you’re a fan, but a driver who only loses to hamilton can’t be that bad, and he also managed to outqualify him a decent number of times.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
5th October 2024, 14:40
And hulkenberg never got a chance at a top team, which I felt he deserved, but that’s also a double edged sword, cause then you go up against verstappen (example replacing perez this year, there’s been rumors) and risk being destroyed if you’re not a top driver.
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
5th October 2024, 19:38
@esploratore1
I do agree I am a Bottas fan and that can influence my view on him. However, based on his performance in 2013 > 2016, I would say he showed better performance then than Hulkenberg did in any of his seasons if I’m honest. 2014 > 2016, Bottas and Massa were both getting podiums (well i guess Massa didn’t in 2016). And Perez got several too, and continued to after Bottas went to Mercedes. The fact that Hulkenberg has never managed one is very poor in my view. Hulkenberg has certainly been in cars that were better than Williams were in 2016, and still hasn’t managed one, and Bottas has.
Back when Sauber (Alfa Romeo) were decent and at the sort of level Haas are at now, Bottas was pretty consistently in the points and looking at least as good as Hulkenberg is now, and making a lot less errors.
It does seem like the team are not all that keen on him, and I feel Hulkenberg will only be going there because he’s German and that is what the team will want. Probably an unpopular opinion, but I don’t think it would be that likely that Hulkenberg would beat Bottas if they end up as team mates next year.
I would say that they would be a solid and experienced line up to fill the gap up until the team becomes Audi. Bottas is apparently quite a good driver in terms of feedback, so I think he would be helpful there. I just feel like they will still be the worst team. It is a shame that Bottas is last in the standings as it is simpl bad luck that that is the case. Coincidently, it was Hulkenberg that likely cost him a points finish in Bahrain with damage at the start, and then he had a retirement in China when he was actually running in the points on merit. Realistically, he should have at least a point or two.
However, I will say that Hulkenberg has had the higher peaks of performance this season, but heavily because of the car. Even though Hulkenberg’s mistakes are far more common than Bottas’ I can understand that if he continued to have higher peaks, even with his mistakes then there still is likely a higher chance of him scoring in a weak team than Bottas. However, in my view, if the team is as bad as this year, I don’t see much chance of Hulkenberg proving that he’s better.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
5th October 2024, 9:49
Even so, they won’t want a single year contract and you’re stuck with the doubtful potential of Audi.
Roth Man (@rdotquestionmark)
5th October 2024, 9:13
Shame the way this has all unfolded. As a Williams fan I’d rather tear up the Sainz contract as he will be on big bucks that could better be utilised elsewhere and give Colapinto the seat he deserves.
Jere (@jerejj)
5th October 2024, 9:33
Yes, but he understandably preferred Williams over the Audi project.
Roth Man (@rdotquestionmark)
5th October 2024, 9:47
Yeah and no doubt a flexible contract that allows him to jump at any big opportunities that arise.
Nick T.
5th October 2024, 9:47
I think it’s good to have Sainz because we know his level. It’s Alex I’d happily ditch, especially because he’s yet another driver who isn’t a reliable benchmark yet. And they’re really not short on cash right now. They’re spending the full budget cap amount. So, it won’t effect how well they develop.
Roth Man (@rdotquestionmark)
5th October 2024, 9:51
I’ve been really happy with Alex, he’s been solid but I understand your point as to not knowing his respective level. Driver contracts don’t come out of the cap but I feel like it could go into some infrastructure or something. I shouldn’t complain, Williams are on the up, Vowles is fantastic and getting a big name driver is great. Not to mention having 2 decent drivers for the first time since Massa/Bottas. All that said I’m all aboard the Colapinto hype train and want to see him in that car ha.
Nick T.
6th October 2024, 17:21
I think Alex, regardless of whether others could have been doing better, has had an enormously stabilizing effect on the team and been very good for morale. A good driver for a transitional period. If it were just up to how much I like a driver from a personal perspective, Alex would be a top pick for me.
Melbourne '96 (@melbourne-96)
5th October 2024, 12:51
6 More races to go, let’s see how things develop into 25 if Albon get’s beaten by Colapinto… Vowles might pull a “Red Bull” out of a hat!
dot_com (@dot_com)
5th October 2024, 22:11
It could work out for Williams though, if colapinto is highly rated they might be able to loan him out to another team and then bring him back when he’s gained some experience – which is a position that Williams haven’t been in for some time.
An Sionnach
6th October 2024, 0:17
It sounds harsh, but it would be better for them to drop Albon for next year. Colapinto will press more and keep Sainz on his toes.
Tristan
5th October 2024, 12:35
Yeah I can imagine how that went, usually after talking to a brick wall you’ll give up, be courteous and say whatever nicely to just get out of there.
Coventry Climax
5th October 2024, 14:09
Plus, the whole thing about deciding whether to broadcast or not.
Herbert forget’s his five year old grandchild hearing any type of language -not just Max’s- ultimately is by the choice of the/a broadcaster.
Robbie1
5th October 2024, 15:53
Herbert is being paid by murderous regimes and destroyers of the planet…think he should be more concerned about his own standards than about a dutch person being dutch speaking in a second language.
But than again, British people deriding other cultures is nothing new.
EffWunFan (@cairnsfella)
6th October 2024, 2:51
Goodness me.
Not in the best of moods today? I’m sure these point’s could be made in a less disagreeable manner.
I hope at least that you are British, otherwise the last comment would be rather hypocritical.
Haas Khan (@haas918)
5th October 2024, 21:49
He has impressed in the three races he raced so far and it won’t be a surprise for anyone to see him securing a seat in F1 for the next season.