Franco Alejandro Colapinto (born 27 May 2003) is an Argentine-Italian racing driver who is due to compete in
FIA Formula 3
The FIA Formula 3 Championship is a third-tier international single-seater racing championship and organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship launched in 2019 as a feeder series for the FIA Formula 1 ...
for
MP Motorsport
MP Motorsport (previously Marcel Peters Motorsport) is a Dutch auto racing team currently competing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship. The team has also participated in Auto GP, Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and Formula Renault 2.0 Northern Europea ...
. He is the
2019 F4 Spanish champion and a race winner in the
European Le Mans Series
The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the ...
. He is a member of the
Williams Driver Academy
The Williams Driver Academy is an initiative from Formula One team Williams to promote talent in different racing series by helping them with funds, with the hope of finding drivers who will race for the team in the future. Notable graduates of ...
.
Career
Karting
Colapinto started karting at the age of nine. He won the Argentinian Championship in 2016 and again in 2018, alongside a victory in the 2018
Youth Summer Olympics.
Lower formulae
Colapinto made his car racing debut in 2018, participating in the final round of the
F4 Spanish Championship
The F4 Spanish Championship ( es, Campeonato de España de Fórmula 4) is an FIA Formula 4 racing series. The championship was planned to launch in 2015, though the inaugural season was cancelled and delayed until 2016. Koiranen GP was the promot ...
, driving for
Drivex School. In 2019 Colapinto signed with
FARacing by
Drivex
Drivex is an auto racing team and school based in Spain. The team was founded by Pedro de la Rosa and Miguel Ángel de Castro in 2005 as a racing school. The racing team is run by Miguel Ángel de Castro.
History
Single-seaters
Since 2009, Driv ...
for a full campaign in the
F4 Spanish Championship
The F4 Spanish Championship ( es, Campeonato de España de Fórmula 4) is an FIA Formula 4 racing series. The championship was planned to launch in 2015, though the inaugural season was cancelled and delayed until 2016. Koiranen GP was the promot ...
. He took the title by winning all three races in the season finale bringing his debut car racing season tally to eleven victories, 13 podiums and 14 pole positions.
Euroformula Open
During the 2019 season, Colapinto drove for Drivex as a guest driver in the
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
round at
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
Formula Renault Eurocup
Drivex also ran Colapinto during the
2019 season at Spa and
Catalunya
Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy.
Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...
. In July 2020, Colapinto joined the championship full-time with Dutch outfit
MP Motorsport
MP Motorsport (previously Marcel Peters Motorsport) is a Dutch auto racing team currently competing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship. The team has also participated in Auto GP, Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and Formula Renault 2.0 Northern Europea ...
.
Toyota Racing Series
In January 2020, Colapinto joined Kiwi Motorsport for the
2020 championship. The season saw him claim a race win in
Hampton Downs and further 7 podiums and end the championship third overall, clinching the rookie championship win.
FIA Formula 3
2022
In October 2020, Colapinto joined
MP Motorsport
MP Motorsport (previously Marcel Peters Motorsport) is a Dutch auto racing team currently competing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship. The team has also participated in Auto GP, Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and Formula Renault 2.0 Northern Europea ...
for the first day of post-season testing at
Catalunya
Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy.
Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...
. He did likewise the following year at
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...
, but ended up signing for
Van Amersfoort Racing
Van Amersfoort Racing is an auto racing team based in the Netherlands. In 2022 the team competes in the Formula 2 Championship, the Formula 3 Championship, the Formula Regional European Championship, Euroformula Open Championship, Italian F4 Ch ...
instead for the
2022 season, partnering
Rafael Villagómez and
Reece Ushijima
Reece Ushijima (born 13 January 2003) is a Japanese-American racing driver who is currently racing in the 2023 USF Pro 2000 Championship with Jay Howard Driver Development. He previously competed in the 2022 FIA Formula 3 Championship for Van ...
. The Argentinian started his F3 career with a pole position on his and his team's debut in the series at
Sakhir
Sakhir ( ) is a desert area located in the Southern Governorate of Bahrain, near Zallaq. It contains the Al-Sakhir Palace, built in 1870.
Camping in Sakhir during the winter months is a popular activity in the country.
Notable sites
In the ear ...
. He went on to win the Sprint Race at
the following round in
Imola
Imola (; rgn, Jômla or ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, located on the river Santerno, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The city is traditionally considered the western entrance to the historical ...
, scoring his and VAR's maiden victory in the series. Throughout the season Colapinto took three more podium finishes at the
Spielberg,
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
and
Zandvoort
Zandvoort () is a municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is one of the major beach resorts of the Netherlands; it has a long sandy beach. It is bordered by coastal dunes of Zuid-Kennemerland National Park and the Amsterdam ...
rounds and a second Sprint Race win at the final round in
Monza to finish ninth in the drivers' standings.
2023
In September, Colapinto partook in the 2022 post-season test, again with
MP Motorsport
MP Motorsport (previously Marcel Peters Motorsport) is a Dutch auto racing team currently competing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship. The team has also participated in Auto GP, Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and Formula Renault 2.0 Northern Europea ...
. On January 9, 2023, he was announced as MP Motorsport's driver for the
2023 season.
Asian Le Mans Series
In February 2021, Colapinto joined G-Drive Racing #25 for the 2021 season. The season saw him claim 3 podiums in 4 races, and end the championship third overall, with his co-drivers
Rui Andrade Rui Andrade may refer to:
* Rui Andrade (footballer)
* Rui Andrade (racing driver)
{{hndis, Andrade, Rui ...
and John Falb.
Formula One
In January 2023, Colapinto was announced to be joining the
Williams Driver Academy
The Williams Driver Academy is an initiative from Formula One team Williams to promote talent in different racing series by helping them with funds, with the hope of finding drivers who will race for the team in the future. Notable graduates of ...
.
Karting record
Karting career summary
Racing record
Racing career summary
† As Colapinto was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.
Complete F4 Spanish Championship results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete Formula Renault Eurocup results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
† As Colapinto was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.
‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed.
Complete Toyota Racing Series results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete Asian Le Mans Series results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete Formula Regional European Championship results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
† Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as they completed more than 90% of the race distance.
Complete European Le Mans Series results
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
Complete FIA Formula 3 Championship results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers)
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colapinto, Franco
2003 births
Living people
Argentine racing drivers
Spanish F4 Championship drivers
Formula Renault Eurocup drivers
Euroformula Open Championship drivers
Toyota Racing Series drivers
Blancpain Endurance Series drivers
Formula Regional European Championship drivers
FIA World Endurance Championship drivers
24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
European Le Mans Series drivers
Asian Le Mans Series drivers
MP Motorsport drivers
FIA Formula 3 Championship drivers
Van Amersfoort Racing drivers
G-Drive Racing drivers
W Racing Team drivers
Drivex drivers
Karting World Championship drivers
FA Racing drivers
Audi Sport drivers
Competitors at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics