At the end of August, Williams announced that their academy driver and F2 racer Franco Colapinto will contest the remainder of the 2024 season with the squad, replacing Logan Sargeant as Alex Albon’s team mate from the Italian Grand Prix.

Colapinto joined the Williams Racing Driver Academy in early 2023 and made his FP1 debut with the F1 team at this year’s British Grand Prix – giving him an initial taste of the FW46.

A race winner in an array of categories on the junior single-seater scene, the 21-year-old had been contesting his second season in the F2 feeder championship, holding sixth in the 2024 standings with a race win and two second-place finishes to his name.