Williams confirm replacement after Sargeant axe

Williams has confirmed it has signed Franco Colapinto to replace Logan Sargeant for the remainder of the F1 season.

Sargeant has struggled for form for much of the campaign after being retained by the team following a challenging rookie campaign last year.

The American learned over the summer break he would not be kept on board for 2025, with Carlos Sainz signed to partner Alex Albon.

On his return to the cockpit at Zandvoort last weekend, Sargeant suffered a high-speed crash during free practice, dealing heavy damage to the car which ruled him out of qualifying.

It led to immediate suggestions he could be dropped ahead of the Italian Grand Prix.

Williams has now opted to make the change, signing its Academy driver for the rest of the campaign.

Colapinto, who will race with number 43, made his FP1 debut in this year’s British Grand Prix, deputising for Sargeant.

The 21-year-old will become the 49th grand prix driver for Williams Racing - based on points-scoring F1 race competitors since the formation of Williams in 1977 as an F1 constructor.

He is also the first Argentine driver in F1 for 23 years and the second to drive for the British outfit, following his countryman Carlos Reutemann.

Colapinto has been competing in F2 this year with MP Motorsport, securing a race win in Imola and podiums in the Spanish and Austrian feature races, as well as seven further points-scoring outings to leave him sixth in the standings.

On his appointment, Colapinto said: "It is an honour to be making my Formula 1 debut with Williams. This is what dreams are made of.

"The team has such amazing history and a mission to get back to the front which I can’t wait to be part of.

"Coming into F1 mid-season will be an enormous learning curve but I am up for the challenge, and I’m fully focused on working as hard as I can with Alex and the team to make it a success."