Colapinto was 'looking good' for Red Bull F1 deal... then he crashed in Vegas

“Then they stopped him with that safety car. Brand new inters are not easy at the best of times. And on his out-lap the heavens opened, and they were telling him to push, to keep the temperature in the tyre, which does give you an advantage. And he aquaplaned off.

“So that one I’m not so worried about, because it’s just a lack of experience, never driven in the rain, and all of those things, it can happen. And that day it happened to Alonso, it happened to Sainz, it happened to Alex. It’s not like he was the only one. I think the Williams was not super easy to drive, because look at the fact that both of them crashed.”

Colapinto at fault in Las Vegas

Even Campbell-Walter concedes that Las Vegas was different, especially given the context of the work Williams had to do just to get two cars to Nevada, with the limits of both physical and financial resources being stretched.

While many drivers had run up escape roads in the tricky cold conditions in Vegas, nobody had actually collected any damage over the three practice sessions – everyone managed to stay within the limits.

Colapinto had already done what he needed to do to continue making an impression by outpacing team mate Albon to the tune of 0.7sec in Q1, although to be fair the Thai driver’s prep lap was compromised by cars ahead.

In P14 after the first runs in Q2 the rookie simply tried too hard to make it into the top 10, clipping an inside wall with an impact that propelled him hard into the barrier on the other side.

“This one is on him, and it was a foolish one,” says Campbell-Walter. “And it’s the pressure of not knowing what your future is, which is sometimes much worse than knowing what it is. And you never know what happens to these drivers in those pressure situations.

Two weekends to prove his worth

“Don’t get me wrong, every time he gets in the car, it’s a pressure thing, in reality. And let’s not forget, he has done a phenomenal job, and he’s not one of these kids that has done hundreds of laps of testing.

“Kimi Antonelli is testing every week. Williams has no TPC [2022 test] car. And he just did the young driver test last year, and FP1 at Silverstone. So he’s not got a lot of experience. He’s never done a lot of testing as a driver, because we never had the budget. And he’s got the pressure of a nation on his shoulders as well.

“I can’t imagine what that’s like, and I don’t think many people can. And it’s very easy to criticise from the outside.

“I really feel for the guys back at the factory, because to be honest, they were probably building parts for next year’s car, not this year’s, and had to stop production and double shift. And for the mechanics, who haven’t had a lot of rest since Brazil, to have to do an all-nighter was a shocker. You always feel for the guys in that situation.

“We’ve got to bounce back, and just carry on and do the job. And he’s got two more weekends to prove his worth.”

Recovery drive in the Las Vegas Grand Prix

Another wrecked car was the last thing that Williams needed, while Colapinto himself also took a big knock and had to await FIA medical clearance on race day.

Fortunately for him the team was able to build up the spare chassis for a pitlane start. To his credit from there he showed that he had learned a lesson by having a safe run to 14th.

It might not have been an eye-catching performance, but the Red Bull camp would have noticed it. From the pitlane, with the pressure not to damage the car again weighing on his shoulders, he finished just four places and 12 seconds behind Sergio Perez – and in a race with no safety cars.

The Mexican’s RBR future remains under threat, and qualifying 16th in Vegas won’t have helped. His camp suggests that he has a watertight contract with no clauses that would allow Red Bull an easy way out, but team boss Christian Horner continues to make it clear that he’s not doing the job.

“Obviously, a single point from Checo,” he said when Motor Sport asked about Perez after Saturday evening’s race. “I mean, it was a good drive from him, a good recovery. But the problem is we’re starting out of position on a day that McLaren were weak. We would have liked to have taken more points out of them today.”

When we enquired about a timeline for a decision he said: “We have drivers under contract, and we have drivers with options that remain between the company and the drivers involved. And there’s nothing to say on that. If there was something to say, I’d tell you…”

Helmut Marko has indicated that the decision will be taken by the “shareholders” after Abu Dhabi.

It makes sense, because none of the participants in the Red Bull merry-go-round are going anywhere.

That timeline gives Perez, Liam Lawson, Yuki Tsunoda and Colapinto two more weekends in which to prove a point. Meanwhile Isack Hadjar – the man who could plug a gap at RB if there is one – has a chance to beat Gabriel Bortoleto to the F2 title and also make an impression with some Abu Dhabi F1 running.

Colapinto’s draft deal with Red Bull

If Red Bull does take Colapinto it will be a straight financial deal between Horner and Williams boss James Vowles. The Grove team has invested in the Argentine driver, and has a long term contract with him, and thus wants to make good on its investment.

It’s understood that there’s an agreement in principle, and Horner’s assertion that the team has “options” on other drivers outside Red Bull suggests that is the case.

“As it stands we have a long-term contract with Williams,” says Campbell-Walter. “There’s interest. I would say that before the qualifying crash, everything was looking good.

“There is a good chance that we’ll see him on the grid next year, but I think some people want to see how he does in the next few races, which is fair enough. They’ve got plenty of drivers, so there is no rush…”

It’s a difficult situation for Horner, Marko and Red Bull, because the first call will be to kick Perez out. If that happens, who goes straight in as Max Verstappen’s team-mate? That particular job has been a thankless one over the years, and the likes of Pierre Gasly and Albon have been chewed up and spat out.

Horner appears keen to take the risk with Colapinto, even though he’ll have done only nine race weekends at the end of this year. Liam Lawson also has a good claim, and just a few weeks ago that appeared to be the clear plan when Daniel Ricciardo was eased out of RB. Tsunoda remains the outsider for the top job, despite having vastly more experience.

A key parameter for Horner is that he rates Albon highly, and would probably take him back tomorrow if he was a free agent. However, the former RBR man also acts as a very good yardstick for Colapinto.

“Max was a star in the making when he was a young kid at Toro Rosso, and he made lots of mistakes,” says Campbell-Walter. “Franco’s made two mistakes. And I think people can see what he’s done against a very good, experienced team-mate.

“Logan Sargeant never was seven-tenths ahead of Alex Albon. Franco was [in Las Vegas], and it’s not the first time he’s done that.

“So I think people can see through the fact that he’s limited in experience, he’s a rookie. Is he going to be given a joker card for the odd crash here or there in his first few races?

“Probably yes, I would hope so. I hope people can see through that, and see the value in him as a human being, because he’s a great kid.”

The gamble on Colapinto

Campbell-Walter’s total faith in his man has already been repaid in spades.

“What I spotted in Franco as a young kid was a talent, a talent with no money,” he says. “And someone asked me to take a punt on him, and at the time, I thought he’s worth it, I think he’s going to make it, and he’s been with us ever since.

“He lives with me and my wife in Madrid. His parents didn’t have any money to get him an apartment or anything in Europe, so we said, ‘Right, come and live with us.’ And we’ve taken him under our wing, and we’ve made it to here. So it’s a phenomenal story.

“He’s got an old head on young shoulders, if you know what I mean. And you always learn in motor racing, all of them do. We saw the same from Kimi Räikkönen, from Max, doing the same sort of silly things.

“But it’s always easier to make a fast driver become more experienced and calm down than make a slow driver faster. That’s much more difficult. So I think he’s got the key ingredients to become an excellent F1 driver. And I think he’s displayed that.

“Okay, he needs to grow up a bit, mature a bit and know when to push the boundaries, and when not.”

The rookies who made a splash

Among the previous drivers to make a big impression jumping into an F1 car at mid-season were Michael Schumacher with Jordan at Spa in 1991, and Sebastian Vettel at Indianapolis with BMW Sauber in 2007.

Both were quickly snapped up and fast-tracked into seats with other teams, and it worked out pretty well in both cases.

One could also consider the more recent case of Oscar Piastri. He hadn’t even done a race when McLaren identified him as the man they wanted, and plucked him away from Alpine.

On that occasion there was no cost to McLaren. The irony is that Red Bull could have had Colapinto for nothing four years ago. He trod a path followed by so many others by visiting Marko’s office in Graz, but it didn’t lead to a contract – and apparently one of the objections was that his English wasn’t good enough at the time.

Will Red Bull really now compromise its own already very crowded ladder of talent by taking by paying a huge sum to get Colapinto on board?

It’s a big call, but the rewards could be big, on and off the track – and there could be a sponsorship windfall that will replace anything lost with the Perez departure, and also pay for the Williams transfer fee.

“The fans love him, “says Campbell-Walter. “He’s a humble guy from a humble background. He’s mega-talented, and I think he’s shown that already.

“He’s got a huge following, and he’s got a country behind him. I think he’s got Latin America behind him, if I’m honest. There were a lot of Mexicans who have said he’s our adopted son!

“And good for him, and it’s nice to see. And what will be, will be next year. Honestly, right now, there is nothing. But Williams have been amazing in trying to make a deal happen.”