While ultra-hyped Kimi Antonelli stole all the headlines for all the wrong reasons at Monza on Friday, in stark contrast, fellow Formula 1 rookie and FP1 debutant Franco Colapinto did all that was asked of him by Williams during his first Grand Prix practice Friday.
Relatively unknown before this last week, 21-year-old Colapinto gatecrashed F1, plucked from the Williams young driver program to replace wayward and crash-prone Logan Sargeant. The Argentinian's benchmark in his nine-race foray with the team will be a teammate and respected Alex Albon.
But unlike Antonelli, whose 'massive' reputation preceded him, he failed his first F1 exam miserably, while off th radar Colapinto passed with flying colours. Not only in FP1 but also in FP2 later on Friday. His first two hours as a F1 driver.
Records show Colapinto ended FP1, his first official F1 session, P17 with a best time of 1:22.880s, seven-tenths of a second down on Albon in the other Williams. At the end of FP2, he was again P17 but faster with a best effort of 1:21.784, only two-tenths shy of his teammate. Half a second was found between sessions, and no bent metal!
Vowles: No sponsorship was linked to signing Franco
Colapinto summed up the first of his finest days in his racing career: "I’m very proud to have completed my first Friday as a Formula 1 driver. There are things to work on with the team, but overall, it was a good first day.
"Instead of going for lap times, I focused on myself by building up everything throughout the sessions. I was careful in FP1, as I wanted to put the laps in. On the long run, I’m still trying to understand how to keep the tire alive for longer and find that sweet spot.
"I felt a lot more comfortable in FP2 as I was trying to find the limit and was more consistent, which was a good step for my confidence. I’m super grateful to everyone in the team for helping me get up to speed this weekend," added Colapinto, who completed 43 laps over both sessions on Friday.
After his unforgettable first day as an F1 driver, next up is FP3 for the rookie, followed by his first qualifying later on Saturday. On Sunday, Colapinto will become the 777th driver to start a Grand Prix.
In closing, Williams team boss James Vowles denied Colapinto paid for the nine drives he will do for the team: “What I’ll make very clear to everyone here is no sponsorship was linked to signing him. Actually, we signed him at the point of not knowing anything in the future.” (Quotes from Agnes Carroll at Monza)
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