Although he admits his preparations for the Italian Grand Prix have been limited, Franco Colapinto describes the opportunity Williams has given him to race in Formula 1 as “insane” and one he is ready to take.
Williams opted to drop Logan Sargeant following the Dutch Grand Prix, where the American crashed heavily in FP3 and severely damaged an upgraded car, with Formula 2 racer Colapinto chosen as his replacement. The Argentinian rookie says the call came extremely late and was unexpected, but that he feels ready to take on the challenge at Monza.
“For you to imagine, Monday I was in the Formula 2 sim preparing for the race here in Monza with my team, so you can imagine how late it was!” said Colapinto (pictured above walking the track with Williams engineers) said. “I don’t know when they were thinking about but it’s an opportunity that I feel ready for and waiting for for so, so long.
“As a young kid I was always dreaming of this coming through and happening, so today to be here speaking to all of you, it’s a pleasure and I am extremely grateful we have got this opportunity.
“It came very late, of course, but although I am ready I was not expecting it, to be honest. I cannot explain how happy I am to be here with Williams — they have been very supportive and the opportunity they have given me is insane.”
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Colapinto concedes he hasn’t had a lot of time to prepare specifically for this race weekend, but believes his work in the Williams simulator as a member of the team’s young driver academy has helped give him a good chance of adapting quickly.
“Well, not a lot [of preparation]! You can imagine I have a lot of preparation to race in F2 and do a good job. But we have done, in a very short period of time, a lot of things,” he said. “It’s only Thursday and in the very small amount of time we have had, we have worked very well. I prepared a seat, prepared in the simulator very well and the race engineers are giving me information and tips to be quick as soon as possible and to make that learning process a bit quicker.
“Luckily, I have a privilege to be in the simulator so young [as a Williams academy driver], because it prepares me a little bit more for F1, to go through a lot of the process because you have so many things to do in the car. So to do laps and laps and laps in there, it prepares me to be a little bit more comfortable today — I know the [steering] wheel and things that are sometimes a bit difficult.
“I think especially with a few races [completed], I will be a little bit more relaxed and I am trying to go step by step.”
The 21-year-old says he has spoken to Sargeant since the decision and feels for the American, but rejected the notion that his only target would be to bring the car home in one piece over the remaining nine races.
“I am a rookie and a rookie in Formula 2 as well, so I am not expecting much. I want to go step by step and focus on myself,” he said. “To be able to be focused on my job and to do what the team expects, to be honest I am more than sure that I can do it. So I cannot wait to jump in the car tomorrow.”