Former McLaren mechanic Marc Priestley has backed Franco Colapinto to make a quick return to F1, having been a "success story".
Colapinto had been having an average 2024 in Formula 2, before receiving a surprise promotion to Williams.
The Grove-based team promoted the Argentinian driver ahead of the Italian Grand Prix, to replace Logan Sargeant.
Many questioned Williams' decision to field Colapinto for the final nine races; however, doubters were quickly silenced after he scored points on just his second appearance in Azerbaijan.
He backed it up by scoring further points in the United States Grand Prix, raising his market value considerably.
Colapinto was linked to both Red Bull and Alpine, with Williams not having a spare seat due to the signing of Carlos Sainz.
Unfortunately, the 21-year-old started crashing heavily, with significant damage having been caused in Las Vegas and São Paulo.
Despite being very fast, his inexperience quickly became visible. Finding a seat for this year was always a tall task, although his crashes did not help his case.
Nevertheless, Priestley believes Colapinto will be back on the F1 grid very soon.
"For Franco Colapinto, it was always a long shot for him to get a seat in 2025. He did everything Williams needed him to do, not just in terms of getting decent results but also kept the car on the track," Priestley told Casino Uden Rofus.
"But, he did end up crashing the car a lot towards the end of the season. It's to be expected in a rookie season.
"If you think about Logan Sargeant, he made a similar amount of mistakes, but he wasn't getting any results.
"I think Colapinto's introduction was a real success story, teams are now interested in bringing him on board and I have no doubt he will make his mark in F1 in the future."
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