Name: Team Torque | Episode 18 – Qatar
Uploaded: 2024-11-29T16:00:00.741Z
Description: Welcome to Team Torque Episode 18, presented by Myprotein. Alex and Franco catch up ahead of the Qatar weekend...

Welcome to Team Torque Episode 18, presented by Myprotein. Alex and Franco catch up ahead of the Qatar weekend...

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Beginning his motorsport journey at the age of eight, Alex started racing in the Honda Cadet class and quickly rose through the ranks, winning multiple titles along the way. He became a multiple champion at both the British and European levels, including claiming both the CIK-FIA World Cup and CIK-FIA European Championship in 2010 in the KF3 category.

Alex graduated to single-seaters in 2012, spending a three seasons competing in Formula Renault 2.0 and claiming a best finish of third overall in the 2014 Eurocup category. He subsequently stepped up to the FIA Formula 3 European Championship in 2015, finishing seventh overall and stepping on to the podium five times. A move to the GP3 Series followed for 2016, with Alex narrowly missing out on the title, ending the year runner-up to Charles Leclerc, having achieved four wins and seven podium finishes.

Two consecutive years in FIA Formula 2 saw Alex claim third in the championship in 2018, only beaten by George Russell and Lando Norris. That precipitated a move into Formula One, with Alex drafted into Scuderia Toro Rosso for 2019. A number of eye-catching performances saw him promoted to Red Bull Racing after just 12 races, where he remained for 2020, scoring two podium finishes and finishing the season seventh overall.

For 2021, Alex was named as Red Bull Racing’s Reserve Driver. He combined the role with a full campaign in the DTM, where he finished sixth overall.

In 2022, Alex took on the role of Race Driver for Williams Racing, marking his third season racing in Formula One. During the 2022 season, Alex impressed the team with stand-out performances, including his debut points-scoring race in Melbourne, in addition to placing 9th in Miami and 10th in Belgium.

Williams Racing announced during the 2022 season that Alex will remain part of the driver line-up for the 2023 FIA Formula One World Championship and beyond.

Alex had a standout 2023 season finishing 13th place in the Drivers' Championship scoring 27 points and helping the team secure seventh place in the Constructors' Championship. He made the top 10 seven times in grands prix with impressive P7 performances in Montreal and Monza and scoring in the Qatar sprint race.

2024 marks Alex's third year racing for Williams Racing, where he reached his 100th race start at the United States GP.

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Franco Colapinto started karting at the age of nine. He won the Argentinian Championship in 2016 and again in 2018. In 2018 Franco begun his European single seat journey, entering the final round of the FIA Spanish F4 season, taking a win and a second place. Franco was scouted by Fernando Alonso's team FA Racing by Drivex, signing him up for the 2019 season.

In 2019, Franco achieved eleven victories, 13 podiums and 10 pole positions, being crowned the Spanish F4 champion. Following this, Franco started his 2020 season by securing his second single seater title after taking the rookie championship win in the 2020 Castrol Toyota Racing Series, adding another race win, a pole position and eight further podium finishes to his tally.

For the second leg of the 2020 season Franco Colapinto returned to Europe to compete in the Formula Renault Euro cup with MP Motorsport, taking two race wins and nine podiums to finish third in the championship as the highest ranked rookie

In 2021, Franco raced in Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine with MP Motorsport where he achieved two Grand Slams and a further victory and podium finish.

For the 2022 season, Franco moved up to FIA F3 with Van Amersfoort Racing chasing his childhood dream to reach the pinnacle of motor racing, Formula 1. The Argentinian immediately made his mark by taking pole position in his first ever FIA F3 Qualifying and went on to win 2 races and 5 podiums in his rookie year.

In January 2023, Franco joined the Williams Racing Driver Academy Programme and went on to compete in the FIA Formula 3 Championship. He had a successful sophomore season, securing two sprint race wins at Silverstone and Monza, and finished the season taking fourth place in the standings.

In October 2023, it was announced that Franco would be graduating to FIA Formula 2 in 2024 with MP Motorsport. Franco made his F2 debut with the team at the final round of the 2023 season in Abu Dhabi, performing well in preparation for the next stage in his career as part of the Williams Racing Driver Academy.

From the 2024 Italian Grand Prix until the remainder of the 2024 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season, Franco will race with Williams. He becomes the 49th Grand Prix driver for Williams Racing*, is the first Argentine driver in F1 for 23 years and the second Argentine to drive for the British outfit, following his countryman Carlos Reutemann.

Team Torque | Episode 18 – Qatar

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Team Torque | Episode 18 – Qatar