Williams Formula 1 boss James Vowles has revealed Franco Colapinto has been matching the pace of Alex Albon on the team’s simulator this season.
Colapinto made a sensational mid-season switch to Williams at the Italian Grand Prix and scored his first points a round later in Azerbaijan.
Another sterling performance in Singapore has the wider world wondering how Vowles plucked such a talented driver to replace Logan Sargeant for the remainder of the 2024 season.
Vowles revealed that despite the Argentine’s limited experience, the signs were always there for the Williams Academy Driver.
“The reason why we put him in the car is, A, he’s part of our academy, and I believe in investing in our academy,” Vowles explained on the F1 Beyond the Grid podcast.
Vowles went on to explain that limited budgets have always hampered Colapinto, but he has been able to excel regardless on his rise through the single-seater ranks.
“If I ask everyone to dig back through his career properly in the detail that we did, which is why he’s here, you’ll see that he never had testing or sometimes not even simulator work that went with it,” the Williams Team Principal said.
“He went wherever finance led him to and when he was in those teams he did an incredible job without any kilometres under his belt.
“[In 2024] he started really developing in Formula 2, which is why we rewarded him with the Silverstone [FP1] drive.”
Colapinto surprised Vowles during Silverstone FP1 appearance
In Colapinto’s first F1 practice session at Silverstone, the Argentine finished just four tenths back from his more experienced team-mate Albon.
“I was a little bit taken aback by how quick he was immediately,” Vowles said.
“So I spoke to him about it. He was very relaxed. He said, yeah, it may never happen again, so I was just enjoying the moment.
“In simulator land, he’s the same pace as Alex. And it’s a good simulator, so we’re able to compare where we are here.”
Being quick in the simulator is one thing, but being quick on track is another.
In the Singapore GP, at a track he’d never raced at before, Colapinto was just seven-thousandths of a second back from Albon in qualifying, surprising Vowles.
“I knew he’d be quick,” Vowles said. “What I didn’t expect is how quickly he’s got up to speed.
“I thought it would take him another few races to be there. So it’d be in the Americas before he picked up.
“He can take all of this pressure, the thousands of things that come at you, and just deal with it in his stride.
“He’s never flustered, never panicked, never overloaded. He’s just, give me more and I can give you more back.”
Such is Colapinto’s rapid rise, the Argentine government is contemplating hosting an F1 race and Sauber could be looking to sign the Williams prospect on loan.
READ MORE: Alex Albon retracts view on Franco Colapinto F1 Singapore GP incident
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