Fernando Alonso has advised Franco Colapinto on how to handle the pressures and demands of Formula 1, saying he has to “control that frustration”.
The Argentinian has endured a difficult season at Alonso’s former stomping ground, Alpine, failing to score points since taking the seat at Imola.
Colapinto was initially said to have been afforded five Grands Prix to prove himself to the Enstone-based squad’s Executive Advisor, Flavio Briatore.
But that has since elapsed, and despite failing to get closer to team-mate Pierre Gasly and former team-mate Jack Doohan, Colapinto has remained in the car.
When asked what an experienced driver can do to advise him with his difficulties, Alonso outlined what he believes to be the basics of what it takes to make it in F1.
“For sure, it’s an extremely competitive environment – Formula 1 but also any elite sport,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“You have to be ready to deliver your best performance every day.
“And when you don’t deliver, you have to be ready to accept some criticism and try to get better.
“But in Formula 1, I think we have a lot of support from our teams, our engineers, the technology, the data.
“So, I don’t think that it’s a bad place to work and to try to get better every day. There’s not really any advice.
“We all have different ways of driving, different driving techniques, different ways of delivering the job. We are all enjoying our time here.
“It’s true that we all want to win. And if you get to Formula 1, it’s because in your past you had opportunities to win – in karting, in the junior formulas – and then you had the opportunity to get to F1.
“And when you get here, there’s only one guy winning, normally for five or six years in a row because they are dominating.
“So, this is the only thing you have to manage — you have to control that frustration. You need to still deliver 100% knowing that you will not win.”
Colapinto ‘lucky’ but aware that ‘only 20’ drivers get the chance
Colapinto was first handed a shot in F1 last year, taking the place of Logan Sargeant at Williams for the final nine races alongside Alex Albon.
The two points-scoring finishes he produced gave him enough of a reputation as a burgeoning talent that Alpine sprung him out of his contract.
But his inability to close the gap to Gasly has placed him under the spotlight, with many wondering if he will make the grid next year.
There is also competition within the team, as the likes of reserve driver Paul Aron wait in the wings, while Alpine has also been linked with Valtteri Bottas.
Responding to Alonso’s words with an acknowledgement of how coveted a place on the F1 grid is, Colapinto spoke of realising how lucky, therefore, he is to be on it.
“Yeah. I think Formula 1, we all know it’s a tough sport, and we all want to be here,” he addressed.
“There are only twenty places, and it’s always going to be very tricky how you get here.
“It’s a lot of effort, a lot of sacrifice in the past for all the drivers that go to Formula 1.
“And only 20 drivers get to be here, and there are thousands that want to be. So it’s the sport we all love, and we are very lucky to be able to do it.”
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