Franco Colapinto’s manager Jamie Campbell-Walter has clapped back at fans on social media after the 21-year-old’s woeful weekend at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Colapinto made an impressive start to his F1 career after being drafted in to replace Logan Sargeant at Williams until the end of the season. That was until he had a weekend to forget at Interlagos, where he struggled to keep his car on track in the heavy rain.
The young Argentine started from 16th on the grid after crashing out in qualifying, before hitting the wall under the safety car during the race.
Over the last few days, Colapinto’s management team have faced criticism on social media for their handling of the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend. In response, Campbell-Walter has taken to social media to issue a furious rebuttal.
He wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “Listen carefully because I will only say this once. Stop with your opinions, stop with your insults and stop telling us how we should do our job. I will deal with it and I don’t need any more comments.
“I was here long before any of you supporting Franco and will be here long after. Everyone makes mistakes and he will learn from them. Let’s focus on Vegas and racing, but to do that, I need you all to shut up.”
Colapinto’s future beyond the end of the current season remains uncertain. He will not be driving for Williams next year, with Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz already signed up to lead the Grove outfit into 2025 and beyond.
He has been linked with a potential move elsewhere, namely Red Bull, with Ralf Schumacher suggesting that he is destined to replace Sergio Perez as Max Verstappen’s team-mate.
“There was a lot of interest in him, and not only from Helmut Marko,” Schumacher told formel1.de. “I think Colapinto is a certainty at Red Bull. He can bring a whole package of sponsors, he will have closed some big deals.
“Internally, the situation between Christian Horner and Helmut Marko is still not optimal. Then you have Max’s father, who is really not happy with the whole situation.
“It’s exciting to see how it’s all solved, but I’m pretty sure that Colapinto will end up in one of those cars.”
