Colapinto proud of first day as F1 driver: 'But, this is still tough'
F1 News
Franco Colapinto will make his Grand Prix debut in Formula 1 this Sunday. On Friday, he got a taste of what is to come. The Argentine told F1TV after FP2 how his first active day as a Formula 1 driver went.
Williams decided to replace Logan Sargeant after the Dutch Grand Prix. After the American crashed heavily in FP3, the car sustained extensive damage that could not be fixed before qualifying, causing him to miss out on that session. It seemed that this was the final straw for team principal James Vowles. The team then had several options, but ultimately chose to let Williams junior Colapinto finish the season with the team.
Colapinto on his first day as an F1 driver
Speaking enthusiastically after Friday's race in Monza, Colapinto said: "It was great. I'm really happy about it. Luckily, I could enjoy a lot today. More than going for lap times and a lot, I just tried to focus on myself and try to enjoy the day. And it went quite well. I was quite careful in FP1, I just wanted to put the laps in and start to understand the tyres a little bit better, but I still miss. On long runs and trying to understand how to keep the tyre alive for longer."
The Argentinian continued, "But it was a good first day. Of course, to keep working on it in the car, try to make the car a bit more suitable with how I drive it. But we were going well. I think FP2, I felt a lot more comfortable with the car. I was trying to find a bit more of a limit and I was just nailing it a little bit more, a bit more consistent and I was just a bit more confident for the high speed. I still miss mostly in those high-speed corners to try and find the limit, a bit more of the tyre, because it's very sensitive to the temperature. You're right to the last sector and the tyre is suffering a bit and I just need to understand better how it works. But overall, a good day. Of course, first Friday as an F1 driver, so very proud and extremely happy."
This article was written in collaboration with Olly Darcy
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