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

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

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

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

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

However regardless of its powerful ending, with two retirements in Qatar and Abu Dhabi past the Williams driver’s management, Colapinto pointed to the positives.

“It hasn’t been the tip of the season I wished however it’s a part of System 1,” he mentioned. “It nonetheless was my dream come true and it was a tremendous expertise. I would really like it rather more if we might have ended as we began, however it’s F1.

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

Analysing his personal efficiency, Colapinto rued his avoidable Q2 accident in Las Vegas however mentioned he was in any other case happy with what he has achieved up to now.

“Since I began in Monza, I needed to be taught loads and I needed to maintain shifting ahead. I feel it is numerous ‘you’re pretty much as good as your final race’, that is how System 1 works. However wanting on the greater image, I feel I did a fairly good job. I attempted to maximise the chance that Williams gave me. It was an unimaginable probability and I feel one thing I respect loads.

“The primary 5 rounds have 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 automobile 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 fairly large mistake going for it within the final lap, attempting to place the automobile in Q3. That is the place I look again and I simply assume that some errors may have been prevented, however I feel wanting on the total image and the expertise, it was my dream come true.”