Carlos Sainz ‘hijacked my seat’ joke as Franco Colapinto surprises Spanish audience

Williams racer Franco Colapinto dropped a Carlos Sainz “hijacked” joke in a Spanish TV appearance which left the audience surprised.

21-year-old Argentine Colapinto was called-up by Williams for his F1 2024 debut as the replacement for Logan Sargeant, who after scoring just one point in 36 starts, was shown the door following the Dutch Grand Prix and cleared the way for fellow Williams academy graduate Colapinto.

Franco Colapinto shocks ‘El Hormiguero’ audience – report

Three rounds into his F1 career, Colapinto already has four points on the board courtesy of his P8 in Baku and has emerged as a contender for the F1 2025 vacancy at Sauber, to become Audi from F1 2026.

Colapinto’s performances have no chance of delivering a permanent Williams F1 2025 seat, as Sainz will head over from Ferrari to partner Alex Albon from next season, both under multi-year deals, this sparking a light-hearted quip from Colapinto.

“He took my seat, your compatriot,” Colapinto joked to ‘El Hormíguero’ host Pablo Motos in his appearance on the Spanish TV show.

“Tell him to go to another team!”

Colapinto sure was not shy, much to the positive surprise of the audience, as the quips continued to keep Motos on his toes.

At one point, Motos quizzed Colapinto on the steering wheels used in single-seater racing, to which Colapinto replied: “Maybe we don’t talk so much about Formula 1, because you don’t know anything about it. You’re lost and you ask me so many questions…”

“Don’t talk to me so much about Formula 1, I’m bored of interviews at the circuit,” Colapinto added.

A look back at when F1 mid-season driver swaps paid off

👉 The ten greatest mid-season F1 driver swaps of the 21st century

👉 F1 2025 driver line-up: Who is already confirmed for the 2025 grid?

The Argentine may have plenty more of those to come though, with Williams speaking to Sauber in a bid to force an opening for their driver which would take him into the Audi F1 era.

Speaking about Williams’ plan for Colapinto beyond F1 2024, team boss James Vowles, in a Wall Street Journal Q&A , said: “So, Franco will always be a part of the academy in our programme, irrespective, anyway.

“What he will be next year is if Audi don’t take him, and for transparency, we are in conversations to see if that is a route for him, where he could be on the grid with them for two years.

“Then what we would do [if he stays, ed.] is we run a two-year-old car, which is actually the same specification, pretty much, as what we’re running now, and he’d be running in that for thousands and thousands of kilometres to keep himself basically in a good shape.

“He would work with us on developing the future cars by being in our simulator and doing that testing work for us at the same time.

“And there were a number of racing series we’re looking at with him so that he can keep his hand really in racing at the same time.

“He would be our reserve driver, he’d be ready to stand by should anything happen, and what I have learned in the last 12 months is that the F1 driver situation is not over.

“It’s good for us, we’re signed, but watch next year – I think you’re going to see a little bit more movement.

“There’s more opportunity out there as well at the same time, so having one of the best drivers on the grid available, I think, will be a strength.”

Read next: Early F1 2025 World Champion bet placed in ‘absolutely love the guy’ verdict