Colapinto: Williams F1 stint still a “dream come true” despite difficult end

Franco Colapinto has labelled his nine-race Formulation 1 cameo as a “dream” regardless of his powerful finish to the 2024 season with Williams.

Colapinto was drafted in by Williams to interchange the underperforming Logan Sargeant after the Dutch Grand Prix, making his debut at Monza in September.

The 21-year-old shone on his first couple of races with the workforce, scoring 5 factors with an eighth-place end in Baku and tenth in Austin.

Following that honeymoon interval, the going bought harder for each Colapinto and Williams as a brace of pricey crashes in Brazil and Las Vegas dampened the joy round his arrival, discouraging Pink Bull from making a transfer for him after contemplating the Argentinian for certainly one of its seats in 2025.

However regardless of a troublesome ending to the marketing campaign, with two retirements in Qatar and Abu Dhabi past his management, Colapinto pointed to the positives.

“It hasn’t been the top of the season I wished but it surely’s a part of Formulation 1,” mentioned Colapinto, whose future is unsure with Carlos Sainz becoming a member of Alex Albon at Williams subsequent season.

“It nonetheless was my dream come true and it was an incredible expertise. I would love it far more if we might have ended as we began, but it surely’s F1.

“Since I used to be very younger, I used to be ready for this chance and dealing in the direction of it and it is simply been a particularly good expertise and really good moments with the workforce. Very grateful for the workforce.”

Analysing his personal performances, Colapinto rued his avoidable Q2 accident in Las Vegas however mentioned he was in any other case glad with what he has achieved thus far.

“Since I began in Monza, I needed to be taught rather a lot and I needed to hold shifting ahead,” he mentioned.

“I feel it is a number of ‘you’re nearly as good as your final race’, that is how Formulation 1 works. However trying on the greater image, I feel I did a reasonably good job.

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“I attempted to maximise the chance that Williams gave me. It was an unbelievable likelihood and I feel one thing I respect rather a lot.

“The primary 5 rounds had been actually, actually good. After which I feel it was one other problem for Brazil with the inters for the primary time, the primary time in an F1 automotive within the rain.

“It was a troublesome expertise, however I needed to undergo these moments, I feel, as a rookie.

“Vegas was fairly powerful. Being powerful on myself, I feel it was a reasonably large mistake going for it within the final lap, making an attempt to place the automotive in Q3.

“That is the place I look again and I simply suppose that some errors may have been averted, however I feel trying on the total image and the expertise was my dream come true.”

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