How Colapinto can follow the Lawson blueprint to F1 success

Franco Colapinto finds himself in a paradoxical situation at Williams.

On the one hand, the end of the Argentine driver’s maiden F1 voyage is definite and pre-determined.

The 21-year-old, having picked up the pieces of Logan Sargeant’s rebuilt FW46, is warming the seat of Carlos Sainz, who will slot in alongside Alexander Albon at Williams next season.

But on the other, his nine-round cameo leaves him in a precarious situation with his future uncertain.

However, Colapinto can be so much more than a mere seat warmer – and there is a ready-made blueprint for him to follow.

Liam Lawson, having deputised for Daniel Ricciardo at five rounds in 2023, is now considered as an F1 inevitability.

Whether Red Bull promotes the New Zealander to RB – or higher – for 2025 remains to be seen, or rather, confirmed.

But his performances last term render his ascension to a full-time F1 seat, sooner or later, as near to a sure thing as they come.

And therein lies the opportunity for Colapinto, in close to double the run afforded Lawson.

Feeder series success does not equal F1 success – and vice-versa

Plucked from the midst of his quietly strong rookie F2 season, the first Argentine F1 driver for more than 20 years was a surprise pick to succeed Sargeant, despite being the senior-most driver in the Williams Academy.

To some, it was rinse and repeat from James Vowles. Colapinto would be doomed to the same fate as his American predecessor.

To others, there was no way a driver who finished fourth in F3 last season and sat sixth in the F2 standings was a better option than F1-proven Mick Schumacher, and Lawson himself.

Both groups, however, are forgetting how the Red Bull reserve driver came to be held in such high regard.

Finding success in F1 is much more nuanced and complex than the assertion that to thrive at the top of the pyramid you must have won back-to-back F3 and F2 titles. As a rookie, no less.

It is easy to forget that Lawson did not win a single F2 feature race during his two seasons in the second tier, let alone come close to winning the championship.

In fact, in that second year, 2022, the 22-year-old beat his team-mate to third in the standings by just one point. And that was none other than the man Colapinto replaced at Williams.

And looks can be deceiving in the F1 support paddock. Like Lawson, Colapinto often did not have access to front-running machinery. Spec series, yes. Completely equal teams, no.

Whilst Colapinto knows an F1 seat with his current employer is not an option beyond this season, he has the chance to prise open opportunities elsewhere in the paddock, and further dispel the myth of the ladder to F1 in the process.

He showed a good account of himself during his debut at Monza, despite the manner in which he was thrown in at the deep end.

A mistake in qualifying saw him eliminated early, but on Sunday, he put together a confident and assured drive to work his way through the field, ultimately finishing P12, only 14 seconds down the road from Albon.

Colapinto now has eight further rounds to solidify his standing in F1, and if he can emulate the level of performance displayed by Lawson 12 months ago, he stands in good stead to find his way back to a seat down the line.

The blueprint is there. He just needs to follow it.