Colapinto’s F1 Fight: Speed vs. Budget

Franco Colapinto’s journey in motorsport has been a relentless battle—without funding, opportunities vanished, forcing him to perform under extreme pressure.

Franco Colapinto had a major weakness during his junior career, often a deal-breaker: his lack of budget.

Leaving Argentina for Europe at just 14, Alpine F1’s current reserve driver had to constantly fight to secure the ever-growing financial backing needed to race.

Without funding, Colapinto missed valuable opportunities. In 2018, he could only make his Spanish F4 debut at the very last round—where he went on to win the final race.

This ability to perform immediately, to prove his worth right away, stayed with him throughout his career. He later showcased this same talent under pressure during his early outings with Williams F1, impressing the paddock with his performances.

“It’s a pressure you learn to handle from a young age when you don’t have many opportunities and aren’t really sure what your options will be if things don’t go well,” he told The Race.

“When I was younger, I was never certain I’d be able to race the next round if I didn’t perform, or if I had an accident or something else happened. I wasn’t used to crashing—my first real ones were almost in F1!”

Franco Colapinto pushes back against a reputation he later acquired—being labeled Franco ‘Crashpinto’, notably after Interlagos last year.

“It’s part of the process. I went through tough moments trying to maximize the car. Brazil was extremely difficult—heavy rain, and the car was nearly undriveable for everyone. I see it as my first real experience in the wet, my first time on intermediates—everything was new, so that’s how I understand that race.”

“The one that hurts is Vegas, because I was in control and pushing the limits in qualifying, trying to put a Williams into Q3.”

“The risk management wasn’t right, but it’s in my nature to try and maximize every moment in the car, as you said. That was my goal—getting the car into Q3—and it didn’t work. But it’s part of the process, part of the experience, and I’m really happy with what they did over these nine races.”

As he points out, Colapinto had very little preparation before being called up to replace Logan Sargeant at Williams F1. Minimal private testing (in Abu Dhabi at the end of 2023), just a handful of FP1 sessions—that was it. Very little compared to someone like Andrea Kimi Antonelli, for example.

“Imagine stepping into F1 with no preparation.”

“I only did free practice at Silverstone before being thrown straight into a full race weekend at Monza, with almost no F1 mileage, and I performed almost immediately. That means having to be on the limit from the start and delivering right away.”

“It has always been the case in every category I’ve raced in before. I know I have it in me, so it’s not as difficult as it seems because that’s how it has always been in my life. It comes naturally.”

Adaptability is one of Franco Colapinto’s greatest strengths, shaped by the challenges of limited funding.

“Adjusting well to these different moments, to high-pressure situations, to the uncertainty of what’s coming—I think I’ve been pretty good at that,” he continues.

“It’s tough to step into Formula 1 when everyone else already understands the tires, the cars, the tools, and you arrive knowing nothing, having to just sit in the car and drive. Adaptation was key, given the very short timeframe and the lack of running I had.”