Williams Team Principal James Vowles declared he was “very, very happy” with Franco Colapinto’s Formula 1 debut in the Italian Grand Prix.
In the build-up to F1 action at Monza last weekend, Williams dropped Colapinto in the deep end when it announced him as Logan Sargeant’s mid-season replacement for the remainder of the 2024 campaign.
The Argentine, contesting his rookie season in FIA Formula 2, had to quickly get to grips with life in F1, having been prepping on the simulator for junior single-seater action on the Monday before the race.
Still, Colapinto had an accomplished debut, recovering from a mistake in qualifying to go from 18th to 12th in the Italian GP.
“To finish within a few seconds of Alex [Albon], of which the delta was all made in the first stint, when he qualified out of position, is a good result,” Vowles said to Autosport.
“He procedurally got everything correct that he needed to; at the start he didn’t lose position, he did a good job at the pitstop.
“Up to his mistake in qualifying he was about within a tenth of Alex. That’s the only mistake that anyone can put on him, and without that, I think he could have been fighting for a point on his first outing. So I’m very, very happy with everything that he’s done and how he’s built up into it.”
Colapinto earned the mid-season call-up as a fresh-faced 21-year-old rookie, a member of the Williams Academy, beating slightly more experienced candidates such as Liam Lawson and Mick Schumacher to the seat.
“Part of the reason why he’s in the car is his ability to cope with immense amounts of pressure,” Vowles explained.
“You still [need to] have natural ability to drive quickly, but he’s not really flappable.
“We loaded him up with more information than a human being can take, and if you ask him now, he’ll say that was definitely too much.
“But it didn’t cause him to go into any other state than ‘this is how I do things, and this is how I perform the best’, and that’s part of the reason why he’s in the car.”
Indeed, Colapinto himself noted in his post-race discussions with the media that he will be looking into the data to see how he can improve next time out at Baku.
“I need to keep working,” the Argentine said. “We have now a lot of information to take on to the factory, take on to a simulator, and understand better in what we need to work.”
One thing that Vowles is confident in, however, is Colapinto’s speed, saying “he’s faster than people realise.
“You need to see it for yourself. It’s based on what he did in Silverstone and what he’s doing in the simulator, which sometimes doesn’t always correlate, but there was good evidence to suggest as much.
“I believe in investing in youth. I was a graduate once and someone invested in me.
“And if you invest in the right individuals who have the right backing, you’ll be surprised what you can get back from them.”
Colapinto’s brief for the remaining eight races of the 2024 F1 campaign is to deliver Williams points, something Sargeant filed to do in the first 15 races of the year, ultimately costing him his drive.
After finishing two positions out of the points at Monza from 18th on the gird, Vowles is confident Colapinto can deliver.
“I would still say that there’s every reason to be encouraged at how he’s going to perform in Baku and Singapore and all the remaining tracks,” he said.
“I think he could have scored points if qualifying had gone well. A little bit is on us. We have to improve the car at the right rate, and there are more updates coming that will help us push more concretely into that point-scoring region.
“When the package is on the car, his chances become all the remaining races.
“In Baku he still has a chance, but he has to be absolutely perfect that weekend, and I think it’s too high an expectation to put on his shoulders.”
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