Fernando Alonso believes that Franco Colapinto will make his way back to the Formula 1 grid "sooner or later."
Alonso's A14 Management company has secured a significant success, bringing its top protege Gabriel Bortoleto, the 2024 Formula 2 champion, to the F1 grid in 2025 with Audi-Sauber.
But Alonso also shares a history with Colapinto, having supported the young Argentine during his Spanish F4 days just a few years ago.
Colapinto initially made a strong impression when he stepped into Logan Sargeant's Williams seat mid-season, sparking rumours of interest from Red Bull and Alpine for 2025. However, a series of crashes in later races dampened his momentum, and his stint ended with a collision with Oscar Piastri and a mechanical DNF in Abu Dhabi.
"It wasn't the ending I was hoping for, which is a shame because I wanted to end on a positive note," Colapinto told DAZN. "I think we had a good pace, but one way or another, we weren't able to show it."
Carlos Sainz will replace Colapinto at Williams in 2025, with the Spaniard getting an early start by running the 2024 car in a 'filming day' in Abu Dhabi on Monday ahead of a full test day on Tuesday. This debut coincided with the announcement that former Ferrari sponsor Santander will begin sponsoring Williams immediately.
As for Colapinto's future, Williams boss James Vowles has set a mid-December deadline for rival teams to secure his services for 2025.
"If Red Bull or Alpine don't want him by mid-December, he will stay with us as reserve driver in 2025," Vowles told the Blick newspaper.
"We are still open to all discussions," Vowles added. "Whether it's about two, three or four years, everything has its price."
Alonso, however, remains optimistic about Colapinto's prospects.
"I think he has shown, especially in those first races, that he had no problems or mishaps," Alonso said. "He showed his speed, he showed his talent.
"The problem with Formula 1 is that there are only 20 seats, but I think Franco managed to show his cards and his identity, so an opportunity will come for him sooner or later."
Colapinto plans to spend time at home in Argentina before considering what comes next.
"The plan is to return to Argentina, spend some time with my family, and get away from all this bad luck," he said before leaving Abu Dhabi.
"We have to keep our heads up and keep moving forward. There will probably be opportunities in the future. It was just a bad run—the bad luck we've had lately was crazy.
"Now we have to rest a bit and come back stronger."
