Franco Colapinto has joined Williams’ F1 Academy and moves to MP Motorsport for 2023 FIA F3 season.
Colapinto joined F3 last season with Van Amersfoort Racing (VAR) where he impressed with Sprint Race victories in Imola and Monza, en-route to ninth in the drivers’ standings whilst he also took pole for the Bahrain Feature Race on debut plus three further podium finishes.
His performances consequently caught Williams’ eye who have now swooped to add the Argentinean to their academy, which already includes his F3 rival, Zak O’Sullivan who will too stay in F3 but moves to PREMA for this season.
Colapinto though will drive for MP Motorsport in a switch from VAR with the 19 year-old describing his decision to join Williams’ academy as “a real honour”, as he acknowledged their stature as “one of the most successful teams in Formula 1 history” over the decades.
Colapinto also took a moment to also acknowledge his late compatriot, Carlos Reutemann, who claimed three wins whilst driving for Williams between 1980-82 seasons, as he described the opportunity to potentially follow in his footsteps as “an incredible opportunity for which I am forever grateful.”
On re-joining F3 but moving to MP Motorsport who he previously drove for in 2020 Formula Renault Eurocup and 2021 Formula Regional European Championship in which he took four wins, Colapinto said that he is excited to try and “reach even higher this time.”
Colapinto also iterated that his rookie F3 season with VAR had been “all about learning” as he vowed to use his “knowledge” to target the title this season.
MP Motorsport Team Principal, Sander Dorsman added that Colapinto had been “outstanding” in two previous seasons with the team, yet considered the Argentinean as one of their “most daunting rivals!”
On what he hopes Colapinto can achieve at MP Motorsport, Dorsman added: “With a first season of FIA F3 under his belt, he now carries the weight needed for a consistently frontrunning campaign – and we’re here to help him achieve that.”
Williams’ Sporting Director, Sven Smeets added that Colapinto’s “natural ability behind the wheel” marks him out as a future star in the making, especially after delivering “several strong performances” in his rookie F3 season in 2022.
Colapinto will drive the number 10 car for MP Motorsport where he will partner Jonny Edgar and Mari Boya.
Collet Switches To VAR
With Colapinto having joined MP Motorsport, Caio Collet has headed in the opposite direction to VAR for a third season in F3.
The Brazilian who took wins in Hungarian and Dutch Sprint Races last season has revealed that he is “extremely motivated” to join VAR, who he believes has “potential” after a strong rookie season last year upon joining the championship.
Collet added that he is feeling “very confident” about his mindset this season with “high goals” to extract the maximum that he can this year.
VAR CEO, Rob Niessink added that Collet is “fast and talented” which makes his arrival “extremely exciting” with “valuable experience to the team,” with view to help the team improve further and fight for further wins.
Leave a Reply