Second-race rookie Franco Colapinto hopes his maiden score in a difficult Azerbaijan Grand Prix is proving that he deserves his shot in Formula 1.
Colapinto was parachuted into Logan Sargeant’s seat last time out in Italy, with Williams hoping its development driver would boost its odds of scoring points in the final third of the season.
His weekend started badly, with a crash in FP1 that also cost him laps in FP2 due to ongoing repairs, but he was superb thereafter, qualifying ninth in a Williams double Q3 appearance.
The race was set to be far more difficult, with Colapinto having never raced in Baku before, but the Argentine didn’t put a foot wrong on his way to his first points for finishing eighth, just one place and 2s behind teammate Alex Albon. It immediately justified team boss James Vowles’s decision to sub him into the team on short notice, with each place on the title table worth millions of dollars in prize money.
“I think they showed so much confidence and trust in putting me in the seat,” Colapinto said. “It was a very difficult bet and a bet that many didn’t understand. I hope I’m showing what I’m capable of. The opportunity that James gave me is helping me to show that.
“[Now] I’m just doing a lot of work to try to learn quick. I have very little mileage in Formula 1. It’s only two races and one free practice and a few laps in Abu Dhabi last year, but I think, with the little mileage I’ve got, to win points in my second race is something really positive and very good.”
The double score took Williams past Alpine and up to eighth in the constructors championship, where it’s now 13 points behind seventh-placed Haas.
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“It’s a great result for the team,” Colapinto said. “Both cars in the points, P8 in the constructors championship, both cars in the top eight. It’s something unexpected and amazing for the team, for Williams. They really deserve it. I’m just very happy — very happy for what we achieved together.
“We need to keep working on the future. We just have to keep working as a team and keep doing what we are doing slowly. I think results will keep coming.”
The top-10 finish came despite an ambitious strategy requiring an early pit stop and a long 41-lap stint to the checkered flag. The Argentine said the tactics exposed his still poor understanding of how to manage the tires just two races into his grand prix career as well as his physical conditioning in the step up from Formula 2 to Formula 1.
“I think we did manage [the tires] very well, but we managed them too much,” he said. “We managed the fronts too much and I didn’t really know what was happening and why my front tire was graining like that. It’s something I found out very late in the race, and I think knowing that maybe could’ve attacked Fernando [Alonso for sixth] a bit more — it’s all part of the process and part of the learning.
“We need to keep working on the physical aspect. There are tough races coming now. This one was tough because between walls you need to keep the focus constantly all the time and be real on it.
“I guess [the next race in] Singapore will be very, very hard, but I felt great today — I felt much better than Monza.”