Williams F1 confident Franco Colapinto will return in future after Alpine loan
SILVERSTONE, UK – Team principal James Vowles is confident Franco Colapinto will return to Williams following his loan to Alpine, who he believes offers the Argentine the best chance of getting on the Formula One grid in the near future.
Following his impressive performances for Williams through the second half of last season after replacing the struggling Logan Sargeant, Colapinto was signed by Alpine on a multi-year agreement in January, becoming its test and reserve driver for 2025.
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Not only did Colapinto impress with his early displays for Williams, scoring points in two of his first four races, but he also sparked a surge in both commercial and fan interest from his native Argentina after ending the country's 23-year wait for a full-time race driver.
The swoop for Colaptino appeared to put early pressure on Jack Doohan for his race seat. Doohan will start his first full season in F1 with Alpine this year after a last-minute debut at the 2024 season finale in Abu Dhabi.
In announcing the deal, Alpine said it had 'entered into an agreement with Williams Racing to secure the services' of Colapinto. As part of this, Colapinto has remained part of the Williams driver family.
Williams team principal Vowles said on Friday at Silverstone that Colapinto was an Alpine driver 'for a number of years,' but that 'after that point, I hope he comes back to Williams, and we'll see where we end up.'
GO DEEPER
What Franco Colapinto's Alpine F1 move means for his and Jack Doohan's future
Asked to clarify the deal, Vowles explained that the agreement with Alpine was always intended to offer the best chance of getting Colapinto on the F1 grid as soon as possible but stated his belief that Colapinto would return to Williams.
'There's a period of time whereby I hope he is racing for Alpine,' Vowles said. 'The reason why we did this is that I wanted him to be racing in '25 and or '26. The best chance he has is with Alpine, as far as getting on the grid, that's why he's there.
'And I don't mean that to the detriment of Jack. I hope Jack has a successful time. But ultimately, Franco is my driver that I want back in that car. After a period of time, he will return to Williams. That period of time is not a line set in stone where I can look you in the eye and say it.
'But I can say he'll be back to Williams at some point.'
Williams was unable to offer Colapinto a seat for 2025 as it had already signed Carlos Sainz from Ferrari to partner Alex Albon, with both drivers on long-term deals.
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Sainz and Albon were on hand at Silverstone on Friday for the launch of the new Williams FW47 race car that will take part in this year's world championship.
Both drivers got to sample the car for a shakedown run at the Silverstone, testing in a one-off livery ahead of the final design's unveiling in the F1 75 Live event at The O2 next week.
Sainz said his first impressions of the new Williams car had been positive and felt it was a sign of the team's progress that it could hold such a public first test without any issues.
'It's a good showing to the outside world, and I think shows the progress that Williams is intending to do,' Sainz said. 'So (I'm) proud of the first day here.'
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