Franco Colapinto was all smiles after wrapping up his first day of action at the Italian Grand Prix, the Williams rookie feeling particularly proud and satisfied with his performance.
Despite limited preparation time, the Argentinian – who was announced on Tuesday as Logan Sargeant’s full-time replacement – delivered a solid couple of sessions, logging plenty of laps over the course of the day and steering clear of any major incidents.
Colapinto clocked in P17 in both FP1 and FP2, but impressively, in the second session, he was only two-tenths of a second behind his much more experienced teammate, Alex Albon, a result that exceeded many expectations.
“It was great, I’m really happy about it,” commented Colapinto at the end of the day. “Luckily I could enjoy a lot today, more than going for lap times, I just tried to focus on myself and enjoy the day.”
The 21-year-old from Buenos Aires was cautious at first, especially during FP1, as he concentrated on getting familiar with the car and the track.
“It went quite well, I was quite careful in FP1, I just wanted to put the laps in,” he said.
“I’m starting to understand the tyres a little bit better but I still miss, you know, on long runs I’m trying to understand how to keep the tyre alive for longer.
“It was a good first day, of course we need to keep working in the car, try to make the car a bit more suitable for how I drive it.
“But we are going well, in FP2 I felt a lot more comfortable with the car, I was trying to drive it a little bit more on the limit and I was a bit more consistent and had a bit more confidence in the high speed.”
Monza's high-speed, low-downforce layout, combined with scorching track temperatures that surpassed 50 degrees Celsius, posed a tough test for all drivers, especially for someone new to F1 like Colapinto.
Yet, despite the challenging conditions, he remained focused on understanding his limits and refining his driving.
“I am quite confident, I just need to find a bit more the limit, sometimes I push a little bit, sometimes I don’t carry enough speed or brake enough, so it’s about finding the limit a little bit more in the high speed,” he continued.
“The tyre I think there is a sweet spot, which is very difficult to understand – if you are above that or below that, it’s a very fine window.”
Though the intense heat in the cockpit and the physical demands of driving an F1 car were notable challenges, Colapinto took them in stride, admitting that Monza's relatively sparse corner count made for a more forgiving introduction to the sport.
Looking ahead to qualifying, where he'll have to push the car to its limits with a lighter fuel load, Colapinto remains optimistic and focused.
For now, he is “very proud and extremely happy” with how his first Friday in Formula 1 unfolded.
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