Red Bull’s Sergio Perez has warned Williams’ Franco Colapinto that stepping back to the FIA Formula 2 championship could hinder his Formula 1 career.
Colapinto, a member of the Williams Driver Academy was drafted in as a mid-season replacement for Logan Sargeant at the Grove-based F1 squad.
The Argentine has impressed during his three outings and has picked up four points so far.
Colapinto’s future prospects look slim, with Carlos Sainz signed to partner Alex Albon at Williams in 2025 and a loan deal to Sauber the only thing standing between the Argentine and a return to F2 next year.
“I really hope for Franco that he’s able to find that Audi [Sauber] seat,” Perez told the media after the Singapore Grand Prix.
“For him it would be a shame after the job that he’s doing that he doesn’t get a seat for next year.
“That can risk his career going back to F2 and not having the straightforward year, having a couple of stalls with those cars. I think F2 has some work to do with their championship.”
Perez rates Williams’ Colapinto highly
Perez had an up-close opportunity to assess Colapinto’s skills in Singapore.
The Red Bull driver found himself on Colapinto’s tail during the opening stint at the Marina Bay Circuit, unable to make his way through.
“He’s very good, difficult to pass,” came the call from Perez over the team radio, praising Colapinto’s defensive skills.
Ferrari Academy Driver Oliver Bearman has also impressed during his F1 cameos in 2024.
The Briton has scored points for Ferrari and Haas in his two Grand Prix appearances and will race for the latter full-time in 2025.
Perez, an F1 veteran of 275 Grand Prix starts, is excited to see young talent coming through.
“I think it’s great to see these young drivers coming in, being so confident and straight away delivering great results,” he said. “It’s always great to see that.”
Perez implied the importance of being part of an F1 Academy and how that has helped Colapinto and Bearman hit the ground running.
“I mean, these are very good drivers, and they’ve been doing that for their whole life. They’ve been with the teams for, I don’t know how many seasons, so they’re really up to speed.
“It’s not like the days when I started where you hardly had any communication with the F1 teams, and you were hardly in the meetings, you hardly drove a car.
“Now these guys, they are on the simulator all the day and they’re up to speed.
“Obviously it’s one good race, two good races. But it’s the consistency of tomorrow that will make you have a very successful career in F1.”
READ MORE: Why are F1 rookies Oliver Bearman and Franco Colapinto so prepared to step up?
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