Explained: Who is Franco Colapinto? How the Williams reserve driver earned his F1 superlicence

Williams has confirmed that it has dropped Logan Sargeant for the remainder of the 2024 season, to be replaced by reserve driver Franco Colapinto.

But who is Franco Colapinto? And how did he come by his Superlicense points? This is everything you need to know.

Who is Franco Colapinto, Williams’ newest driver?

Franco Colapinto is an Argentine racer born on May 27, 2003, and at just 21 years old, he’s already deeply accomplished.

Colapinto started out in go-karts when he was just nine years old, and he quickly took to the discipline, winning the 2016 Argentine Championship followed by a karting victory in the Youth Summer Olympics of 2018.

Colapinto debuted in open-wheel’s F4 Spanish Championship in 2018 for just one round. In 2019, he won the Spanish F4 title and made appearances in Formula Renault Eurocup and the Euroformula Open Championship.

Then, 2020 saw him finish third in both Formula Renault Eurocup and the Toyota Racing Series, an open-wheel championship in New Zealand.

2021 was busy for Colapinto; he finished third in the Asian Le Mans Series, fourth in the European Le Mans Series, and sixth in the Formula Regional European Championship despite withdrawing from four races.

He compete in Formula 3 in both 2022 and 2023, finishing ninth and fourth in the championship, respectively. It was enough to earn him a Formula 2 seat at MP Motorsport, where one victory has put him sixth overall in the championship.

Back in January of 2023, Colapinto was announced as joining the Williams Driver Academy; in December of that year, he tested the FW45 during the post-season Abu Dhabi test, where he completed 65 laps and set the 22nd fastest time overall.

He also made his practice debut in Formula 1 this year at the British Grand Prix.

His next outing will be in FP1 at Monza, where he will be a full-time F1 driver.

Understanding Colapinto’s signing:

👉 FIA Super Licence explained: How drivers can reach the magic 40-point mark to race in F1

👉 Revealed: Six other Williams F1 driver hires as unexpected as Carlos Sainz

How did Franco Colapinto earn his Super License?

Does Franco Colapinto have a Super License? Many casual Formula 1 fans took to social media to ask just how Colapinto has qualified for that license. We want to break this down to make it easier to understand.

In order to qualify for a Super License, drivers must meet a handful of criteria, including an accumulation of at least 40 super license points over the previous three seasons in any combination of valid championships. However, because of COVID-19, Colapinto is able to count his best three years from a four-year period that includes 2021.

Here are Colapinto’s qualifications that count toward his Super License:

• 2020 : 5 points for third in Toyota Racing Series
• 2020 : 12 points for third in Formula Renault Eurocup
• 2021 : 5 points for sixth in Formula Regional Europe
• 2023 : 15 points for fourth in Formula 3
• One bonus point for British GP FP1
• Two bonus points for a penalty-free 2023 F3 season

That adds up to exactly 40 points — just enough for Colapinto to secure a Super License.

Read next: Revealed: The reason behind brutal Logan Sargeant axe as Williams change drivers