Franco Colapinto joined the F1 grid ahead of the Italian Grand Prix back in September, taking Logan Sargeant’s place and doing so with the knowledge that his time in F1 would only last nine races with Carlos Sainz set to complete Williams’ 2025 lineup alongside Alex Albon.

This decision by Williams initially raised eyebrows in the paddock. Though the Argentinian driver had shown speed in the lower categories and claimed his first F2 victory in Imola this year, he was a surprising choice given that James Vowles, Williams team principal, and Sven Smeets, their sporting director, had an agreement to “never put an academy driver unprepared into the car”, according to Smeets. 

But of course they did just this and the decision paid off almost immediately as Colapinto brought home four points in Baku with an impressive P8 finish – which alongside Albon’s P7 finish made it Williams’ best result in the ground effect era and since the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix. This was a stark contrast for the team to the point-less run of Sargeant who had previously held the seat.

Perhaps it’s this immediate contrast that made an impression on the paddock for Colapinto and now after finishing in the top 12 in every grand prix he’s taken part in, he’s posing a problem for F1’s 2025 lineup…

With just one seat left on the grid at Sauber and numerous names in play for that including F2 driver Gabriel Bortaleto, current Haas driver Kevin Magnussen, and 10-time grand prix winner Valtteri Bottas, Colapinto has some competition to be in contention for that seat even if Williams would release him to it.

But the difficult, messy driver situation at Red Bull could offer Colapinto an opportunity. Rumours have floated around this week suggesting Christian Horner and Red Bull have offered Williams a large sum of money in the region of $10+ million to buy him out from his Williams Academy Contract and add him instead to the Red Bull driver pool.

It seems Red Bull are targeting Colapinto as a possible replacement at its B-team, Visa Cash App RB, for Liam Lawson as the prospect of him being promoted to the top team for 2025 increases week by week as Perez’s self-described “terrible” season continues.

But this could be difficult, as his obvious talent has meant Williams are also keen to keep him on side as a reserve for 2025 alongside testing commitments as the outfit will run private older machinery tests for the first time. While Williams may be open to loaning him to a team if it means he gets a Formula 1 drive next season, Red Bull are not interested in this and the price of releasing him from a loan situation is growing each weekend as he continues to put on notable performances.

But Red Bull or Sauber may not be the only options for Franco, as James Vowles has revealed that they are “exploring possibilities with a number of teams that are interested” but feels “there is nothing to really communicate beyond that point” at the moment about this “exceptional driver”, in Vowles’ words.

It’s not just his team principal that Colapinto has impressed, with him also earning the support of seven time world champion Lewis Hamilton for a seat on the grid, who said “I think he’s earned his right to be here”.

“There still is a seat available. And he’s saying it’s not for him to decide. My advice would be to make sure that it is. I’d be pushing on my side to make sure I was doing absolutely everything…Hopefully he’s got good people behind him who are doing the right job to make sure that he’s here racing next year.”

Franco feels it’s more about the present as he says he’s “trying to enjoy the moment, enjoy the opportunity that I’ve got”, but there has to be an element of looking to the future when such an impression has been made on the paddock in just six races.