Williams boss James Vowles has offered a brutal assessment of Mick Schumacher and Franco Colapinto following the latter’s promotion to a race seat in place of Logan Sargeant.
The young Argentinian will make his grand prix debut this weekend alongside Alex Albon after the squad cut ties with Sargeant following the Dutch GrandPrix.
Colapinto was seemingly the third choice for the squad, with Liam Lawson the preferred candidate.
“There were three options on the table, one was Liam Lawson, one was Mick, and one was Franco,” Vowles explained.
“With Liam, the contractual situation with Red Bull wouldn’t have worked with me here at Williams, so that didn’t become an option for us in that circumstance.
“And then it’s a tough choice, it really is.
“Mick has improved a lot from where he was with Haas, there’s no doubt about it, he’s a competent driver.
“So now the decision is do we put Mick in the car, and I think Mick would have done a good job, or do we invest in an individual that’s a part of our academy?
“Both will fall into a category of good, not special,” Vowles asserted.
“I think we have to be straightforward about this; Mick isn’t special, he just would have been good.”
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The decision to opt for Colaptino came, according to Vowles, down to whether the team wanted to invest on the future or an external party.
It opted for Colapinto with the Williams boss hoping it helps shape the 21-year-old into a strong reserve driver.
“Do I think we’ve put someone into the deep end of the swimming pool? Absolutely, 100 percent,” Vowles conceded,
“I want to demonstrate to the world that investing in a driver that can… I hope he’ll become a very successful reserve driver for us, simulator driver for us, and other aspects depending on how he performs, is investing in the future of Williams.”
The decision to dump Sargeant came as no surprise, with the American’s future having been in question for much of the season.
Vowles acknowledged swapping drivers mid-season was far from ideal, but attempted to justify the move by suggesting it was in his best interest.
“The cleanest point to have done it would have been at the beginning of the year,” he noted.
“Logan at the end of last year was starting to get within a tenth of Alex [Albon] and starting to be close, and it was good to see his progression, and if that progression continued I think we would have seen a driver in a very strong place this year.
“The reason now is straightforward: we’ve had enough experience under our belt to know he’s reached the limit of what he’s able to achieve – and in fact it’s almost unfair on him furthermore continue with him.
“If you look at his face when he gets out of the car, he’s given you everything he possibly can, and it’s not enough.
“He absolutely never from a human perspective gave me anything other than 100 percent of what he’s able to do, but the realisation of where he is on his limits now is very clear.
“And more so than that, the relationship can only become more and more difficult across the last nine races towards the end of the year because he knows what his future holds, which is not to be in F1
“A clean break at this stage feels like the correct decision for all parties.”
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