Williams’ Academy driver, Franco Colapinto will replace Logan Sargeant for FP1 at the 2024 British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
Colapinto’s opportunity comes after a strong start to his rookie season in F2 with MP Motorsport, where he sits fifth and 42 points off the title lead held by Paul Aron after seven rounds.
Colapinto also took victory in the Emilia Romagna Sprint in May and has since taken second-placed finishes in the Spanish and Austrian Feature Races, which proved enough to earn this FP1 outing in Sargeant’s car.
“I have so many emotions,” commented Colapinto who is “extremely delighted” to get a chance to drive in a F1 FP1 session on a Grand Prix weekend, in-between his F2 Practice and Qualifying sessions on 5 July.
The 21 year-old Argentinean iterated that he is eager to be ready for his opportunity as he continued: “I will be the most prepared I can; I will be doing a lot of laps in the simulator and studying the details needed to drive this year’s car.”
Colapinto previously drove for the team in the 2023 Post-Season Young Drivers’ Test held in Abu Dhabi and can’t wait to experience this year’s FW46 car, especially at an iconic circuit at Silverstone.
“To be able to drive it at a track like Silverstone is a privilege, it is one of my favourite tracks and to drive it at the team’s home race means a lot.”
Colapinto also shared a message for his fans in Argentina as he added: “To all the Argentine fans – I hope you enjoy FP1 as much as I’m going to! It’s an important moment for our country and I’m so grateful for all the support I’ve been given. I’m going to give my all to make you proud!”
Williams’ Sporting Director, Sven Smeets added that Colapinto had earned his FP1 drive with strong performances throughout last season and into this season, amidst his step up from F3 into F2 this year.
Smeets added that this opportunity allows Williams to showcase their young talent at their home event, as he said: “We are proud of our talented group of drivers in the Williams Racing Driver Academy and it is important for us to give them the opportunity to progress and have these important chances as they move up the ladder.
“To showcase our talent at our home race at Silverstone is a nice moment and, of course, this is going to be a great day for the Argentine F1 fans.”
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