Vowles Sponsors Rally to Colapinto, No Pay-to-Ride

Williams F1: Colapinto Draws Sponsors, Not a Pay Driver

Franco Colapinto signs with Williams F1, attracting sponsors naturally, confirming no pay-to-drive arrangement.

Williams F1 to Receive £4.5 Million from an Argentine Sponsor Following Franco Colapinto’s End-of-Season Signing. Questions had arisen over whether the Argentine was a pay driver, but James Vowles, the team principal, refuted suggestions that the driver comes heavily funded.

Artfully choosing his words, the British director explained that it was Colapinto’s signing that drew sponsors eager to finance the team to support the young driver, rather than sponsors paying for his seat.

“He doesn’t bring money with him. What’s remarkable is that from the moment we informed him and his management of our decision, the phone hasn’t stopped ringing with Argentine businesses,” Vowles stated.

“What you’ll see on the car are stickers. They’re paying fair market value for this. It’s not money because of Franco. They want visibility on the car and are proud that we are fielding an Argentine driver.”

“If you know him, you’ll be aware that throughout his career, he has operated on a very tight budget, with no money at all. He has nothing to his name. What I want to make clear to everyone here, is that no sponsor was linked to his signing.”

“In fact, we signed him when we knew nothing of what might follow. What happened next, and it’s not over, the phone still rings, is that a number of Argentine companies—and there are many—are calling and paying market price for decals on the car, essentially.”

“They want to be part of the journey and the journey beyond 2024, just to be clear, or I hope many will, we’ll see where we end up. But you will see stickers appearing on the car around Baku. I don’t know how many there will be at this point, because we are really receiving a lot of interest from Argentina.”

“But at the time of choosing Franco, there was no financial implication involved. And to be quite frank, there have been financing offers from other sources. We are not interested. This is about investing in our academy and in our future.”

Vowles: Sponsors Rally to Colapinto, No Pay-to-Ride Vowles: Sponsors Rally to Colapinto, No Pay-to-Ride

Race Center
China Flag
Chinese GP
21 Mar 2025 - 23 Mar 2025
Free Practice 1
21 MAR 03:30 - 04:30
Sprint Qual
21 MAR 07:30 - 08:14
Sprint Race
22 MAR 03:00 - 04:00
Qualifying
22 MAR 07:00 - 08:00
Race
23 MAR 07:00 - 09:00

2025 F1 Australian Grand Prix - Race Results

Lando Norris
1
LANDO
NORRIS
57
Max Verstappen
2
MAX
VERSTAPPEN
+0.895s
George Russell
3
GEORGE
RUSSELL
+8.481s
Alex Albon
4
ALEX
ALBON
+12.773s
Kimi Antonelli
5
KIMI
ANTONELLI
+15.135s
Lance Stroll
6
LANCE
STROLL
+17.413s
Nico Hulkenberg
7
NICO
HULKENBERG
+18.423s
Charles Leclerc
8
CHARLES
LECLERC
+19.826s
Oscar Piastri
9
OSCAR
PIASTRI
+20.448s
Lewis Hamilton
10
LEWIS
HAMILTON
+22.473s
Pierre Gasly
11
PIERRE
GASLY
+26.502s
Yuki Tsunoda
12
YUKI
TSUNODA
+29.884s
Esteban Ocon
13
ESTEBAN
OCON
+33.161s
Oliver Bearman
14
OLIVER
BEARMAN
+40.351s
Liam Lawson
15
LIAM
LAWSON
47 DNF
Gabriel Bortoleto
16
GABRIEL
BORTOLETO
47 DNF
Fernando Alonso
17
FERNANDO
ALONSO
34 DNF
Carlos Sainz
18
CARLOS
SAINZ
0 DNF
Jack Doohan
19
JACK
DOOHAN
0 DNF
Isack Hadjar
20
ISACK
HADJAR
0 DNF
F1 CALENDAR 2025
Race
Date
Chinese Flag
Chinese
Shanghai International
23 Mar
Japanese Flag
Japanese
Suzuka Circuit
6 Apr
Bahrain Flag
Bahrain
Sakhir desert
13 Apr
Saudi Arabia Flag
Saudi Arabia
Jeddah Street
20 Apr
United States Flag
United States
Miami
04 May

2025 FORMULA 1 DRIVERS' WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Lando Norris
1
LANDO
NORRIS
25 Points
Max Verstappen
2
MAX
VERSTAPPEN
18
George Russell
3
GEORGE
RUSSELL
15
Alex Albon
4
ALEX
ALBON
12
Kimi Antonelli
5
KIMI
ANTONELLI
10
Lance Stroll
6
LANCE
STROLL
8
Nico Hulkenberg
7
NICO
HULKENBERG
6
Charles Leclerc
8
CHARLES
LECLERC
4
Oscar Piastri
9
OSCAR
PIASTRI
2
Lewis Hamilton
10
LEWIS
HAMILTON
1

2025 FORMULA 1 CONSTRUCTORS' WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

1
McLaren
27
2
Mercedes
25
3
Red Bull
18
4
Williams
12
5
Aston Martin
8
6
Sauber
6
7
Ferrari
5
8
Alpine F1
0
9
Haas F1
0
10
Racing Bulls
0
Go toTop