Franco Colapinto raced his first F1 weekend with Williams in Monza. The Argentine driver recounted the day he was contacted to replace Logan Sargeant and shared his feelings about it.
Williams decided to replace Logan Sargeant for the remainder of the 2024 season, and Franco Colapinto took his place. “I was here at the Williams headquarters,” the Argentine explained. “They called me to go to James’s office. I went there, and he explained that they would send me the contract to race in F1.”
“What is happening?” I thought. “The day before, I was at MP Motorsport on the simulator preparing for the Formula 2 weekend in Monza. Suddenly, on Wednesday, I had become a Formula 1 driver. You know, it was like a bucket of cold water that hit me out of nowhere.” – he pointed out.
Franco Colapinto then described how surprised he was by the call from Williams. “I didn’t expect it. I had seen on social media the options, Mick, Liam, there were many drivers that the media was talking about, but no one was really talking about me. I had no idea until they told me, and I thought, ‘I thought I was out of the options, but I wasn’t.’”
The Silverstone GP: a step towards F1
The Argentine has been part of the Williams Driver Academy since 2023, and the team allowed him to drive a Formula 1 car even before his debut in Monza: during the post-season tests in Abu Dhabi and in the FP1 of the 2024 Silverstone GP.
In particular, according to Franco Colapinto, the event in Great Britain was significant for him on his journey to Formula 1. “I was ready; after the FP1 at Silverstone, I knew I was ready for Formula 1. It was a great opportunity at a good moment in my career. I did very well at Silverstone, and that’s what the team and James were focusing on, along with the work I did on the simulator. I was very fast, and I helped the team improve the car.” – the Williams driver concluded.
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