Williams shares update on Franco Colapinto's future with the team as the Argentine is loaned out to Alpine

Williams team boss James Vowles has said that Franco Colapinto will eventually be back on the team even though he has been loaned out to Alpine for now. The Argentine driver surprised everyone when he got a shot in F1 out of the blue as a replacement for Logan Sargeant.

The Argentine was competing in Formula 2 at the time and had been impressive, but it wasn't as impressive as what he would do in F1 when Vowles gave him a shot as Sargeant's replacement. As soon as Colapinto got the opportunity, the driver was right on the pace of teammate Alex Albon, something his predecessor had been unable to do.

Doing so by jumping into the car mid-season turned heads and also garnered interest from different teams on the grid. With Williams already having a fixed lineup of Carlos Sainz and Albon in place for 2025, the team couldn't give Colapinto a seat. It was during this time that Flavio Briatore from Alpine jumped in and offered the Argentine a reserve driver role.

During Williams' shakedown session, James Vowles was questioned about Franco Colapinto and where his future would be, and the former Mercedes man said that the Argentine would be a driver for the Grove-based squad in the future. As quoted by RacingNews365, he said,

“There’s a period of time whereby I hope he is racing for Alpine,” Vowles said. “The reason why we did this is that I wanted him to be racing in ’25 and or ’26. The best chance he has is with Alpine, as far as getting on the grid, that’s why he’s there."

He added,

“And I don’t mean that to the detriment of Jack. I hope Jack has a successful time. But ultimately, Franco is my driver that I want back in that car. After a period, he will return to Williams. That period is not a line set in stone where I can look you in the eye and say it. But I can say he’ll be back to Williams at some point.”

Alpine addresses pressure on Jack Doohan amid Franco Colapinto's signing

Alpine boss Oliver Oakes recently addressed the added pressure on Jack Doohan amid the team signing of Franco Colapinto. Doohan has only done one race for the team as he took part in the year-ending race in Abu Dhabi. The fact that the team is willing to bring in a proven entity in Colapinto as a reserve driver is an indication that the team is looking at options as well.

On an appearance on the James Allen On F1 podcast, Oakes assured that Doohan would be treated fairly, as he said,

"It's been a little bit harsh on Jack, some of the stuff that was written by the keyboard warriors there, and he's getting his fair crack at it next year. And I think the intention there isn't to put [pressure] on his shoulders. It's genuinely to give the team options further down the line."

"And for me F1 is fine margins. There's a load of people who are depending on a driver to deliver each weekend, and we need to make sure we've got the best drivers in the race car, not just now, but also in the future."

Colapinto is one driver quite a few people in the paddock would be keeping a keen eye on. The Argentinian has been impressive and if he gets the seat at Alpine, how he does against Pierre Gasly would reveal a lot of things.