Williams rookie Franco Colapinto has enjoyed an impressive entry into Formula 1, yet the young Argentine charger remains composed, insisting his performances have not come as a surprise.
Colapinto was promoted from Formula 2 to replace Logan Sargeant at Williams ahead of the 2024 Italian Grand Prix at Monza, a debut that saw the 21-year-old finish a creditable 12th.
But in just his second race with the British outfit, in Azerbaijan, Colapinto outqualified his teammate Alex Albon and finished P8, scoring his first career points in F1.
In Singapore last time out, he was once again on par with Albon in qualifying while he concluded his race day just outside the top ten.
"I know what I can do, and I was expecting to be quick," Colapinto said confidently, reflecting on his first races among motorsport’s elite in an interview with Motorsport.com.
"Even though I didn't have a lot of experience with the car, that was the idea of the team, and why they put me in the car, so I'm happy to be helping the team."
One of the most striking aspects of Colapinto’s F1 journey is how rapidly he has adapted to Williams’ car and to its complexities.
Formula 1 machinery is a significant step up from the already demanding Formula 2 cars, but Colapinto has proven to be a quick learner, closing the gap to his vastly more experienced teammate, Alex Albon, far quicker than expected.
"I think we are doing a good job together as a team," he added. "It's tough. There are a lot of things you can do in the car with the tools and so much stuff that you can change.
"But I am learning every time I'm going out and I'm just getting a bit more used to the car, a bit more used to how I can extract the maximum performance of the car, and that's going well."
Colapinto’s smooth transition to F1 is also in part due to the guidance he’s received from Albon. Having the Anglo-Thai racer as a teammate has been invaluable, helping him adjust to the new challenges of Formula 1 far more rapidly than he had anticipated.
"Yeah, it changed a lot," he acknowledged. "The day before I was still racing in F2. It was a big step forward, of course, a dream come true.
"I am enjoying the opportunity a lot, and I know it is going to be tough, but we are doing a great job as a team to make me go through that learning process quickly.
"We already scored points in only my second race together. It's a dream come true to be working this well together as a team.
"Alex has helped me so much since I arrived in Formula 1. To have a reference that, in my opinion, is one of the best of the grid, it's really positive and has helped me to do all these steps so much quicker since I arrived in Monza.
"It's a great way to start to have a team-mate like that."
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