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

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.”