ARGENTINE Franco Colapinto will replace American Logan Sargeant at Williams from this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix and for the rest of the Formula One season, the British team announced on Tuesday.
The 21-year-old Formula Two driver is a member of the Williams academy and made his Friday practice F1 debut with the former champions at the British Grand Prix in July.
He will be the first Argentine Formula One driver in 23 years and just the second to race for Williams after the late Carlos Reutemann, who retired in 1982.
“To replace a driver mid-season is not a decision we have taken lightly, but we believe this gives Williams the best chance to compete for points over the remainder of the season,” said team boss James Vowles in a statement.
“We have just brought a large upgrade to the car and need to maximize every points-scoring opportunity in a remarkably tight midfield battle.”
Sargeant, 23, has failed to score a point in 15 races this season and crashed heavily in final practice at last Saturday’s Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.
The costly accident wrecked his car, forcing him to miss qualifying, and led to immediate speculation that he would be dropped before Monza.
Williams is ninth of the 10 teams with only four points from 15 races – all scored by the experienced Alex Albon, who qualified an encouraging eighth at Zandvoort before his car was disqualified for having too big a floor.
Sargeant was set to leave at the end of the year anyway with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz already announced last month as his replacement.
His departure leaves Formula One without a U.S. driver heading into a period with two US races coming up in Austin and Las Vegas.
