Unless something unexpected happens, this weekend's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will be Franco Colapinto's last F1 race, at least for a while.
Colapinto exploded onto the F1 scene in a shock mid-season promotion with Williams, as the team slotted him into the seat next to Alexander Albon in place of Logan Sargent. Colapinto responded with a series of strong performances, including a points win in his second F1 race, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, and was soon linked with a full-time spot at both Sauber and potentially Red Bull.
However, rumors of a shock move to Red Bull have been dispelled in recent days, with Sauber finally announcing that Gabriel Bortleto will drive for the team alongside Nico Hulkenberg. That means Sunday's grand prix will be his last F1 race, at least until he is expected to move up in the future.
At the team's media preview for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Colapinto thanked Williams for being a “dream come true”.
“As we approach the final race of the season, I would like to thank the whole team for giving me this great opportunity and their support over the past nine races. Racing in Formula 1 with Williams is a dream come true. Team Trackside I'm going to go back to the factory and do everything I can to finish the season in the best possible way,'' Colapinto said at the Williams media preview. “Everyone at Williams has given their all throughout the season and their hard work has not gone unnoticed. Our goal in Abu Dhabi is to have a clean weekend and build through the sessions. [maximize] It's our performance. ”
Colapinto isn't the only young driver competing for Williams this weekend. Luke Browning will take part in FP1 as part of the sport's mandatory new driver sessions. Browning is a member of the team's driver academy, finished third in the F3 Drivers' Championship and currently competes in F2 with ART Grand Prix.
Browning will also drive for Williams in the post-season young driver test session at Yas Marina.
“I can't wait to get on track in the FW46 and drive a Williams F1 car for the first time. It's a big moment in my career and it's an honor to experience this generation of F1 cars at a circuit like Abu Dhabi,” said Browning. said. “Both the team and I have prepared a lot for this session and we will be making the most of every lap to learn as much as possible.The team at Williams for giving us this great opportunity Thank you to everyone.”
As the veteran of the group, Albon will be hoping to finish the season on a high note to give Williams momentum heading into 2025.
“After what has felt like a long and difficult season, we arrive in Abu Dhabi this weekend for the 2024 finale,” said Albon. “The team gave it their all. I would like to thank everyone on the team for working tirelessly throughout the year to keep us on track, even in the most difficult of times. We experienced some bad times, but that's all part of racing. As a team, we hope for a stronger season and learned lessons that we can carry into 2025.
“Our car didn't perform as well as we expected in Qatar, so we hope that we can address those characteristics at Yas Marina and make some positive changes for this weekend,” said Albon. added. “Our goal is to run a clean weekend and extract as much performance as possible from this final round while incorporating insights that will help next year’s car.”
Williams enters. Sitting 9th on the weekend In the F1 Constructors' Championship, they have a 29-point lead over Visa Cash App RB F1 Team in 8th place.
