(Motorsport-Total.com) – Franco Colapinto’s big dream will come true this weekend: The 21-year-old Argentinian will be able to celebrate his Formula 1 debut in Monza. He will replace the hapless Logan Sargeant for the last nine races of the season, with whom Williams has lost patience.
Franco Colapinto can call himself a Formula 1 driver since Monza Zoom
The team announced this news on Tuesday, and Colapinto found out about his unexpected opportunity almost as late, because on Monday he was still sitting in the simulator with his Formula 2 team MP Motorsport to prepare for the junior class event. “So you can imagine how late it was,” he laughs.
“I don’t know when they thought about it, but it’s an opportunity I’ve always been ready for and have been waiting for for so long,” says the rookie.
“Since I was a kid, I’ve always dreamed of this coming true, and to be able to stand here today and talk to all of you is a joy, and I’m just extremely grateful to Williams for this opportunity,” said Colapinto, who himself was surprised by the decision. “The fact that they’re giving me this chance is crazy.”
The Argentinian himself had not necessarily expected the promotion, especially since other drivers with Formula 1 experience were also in the running to replace Sargeant for the rest of the year.
You can never choose when you get into F1!
But Williams opted for a young driver from their own squad, who had already taken part in Friday practice for the team in Silverstone. “They were very happy with my performance and I think I was perhaps still in the back of their minds,” he says. “But of course I didn’t expect that.”
He was fully focused on his Formula 2 season with MP Motorsport, where he is currently sixth in the overall standings. “We still had four races to go and I prepared as best as I could with the team.”
“And of course it is very sad that I cannot continue with them. They have been my family since 2020 and I have taken step by step, championship by championship with them – and today I have to leave them,” he says with a little sadness.
“But you can’t choose when you come to Formula 1,” he knows. “I’ve come into this race on a very special weekend in Monza and I’m super happy to be honest. I’m very grateful to Williams for this great opportunity.”
No high expectations for the debut
Colapinto knows that he has a big task ahead of him, as he does not have much experience in a Formula 1 car. In addition, he is a rookie in Formula 2 this year, so the jump seems pretty big for him: “I don’t expect much,” he admits.
“I just want to take it step by step and focus on myself. The most important thing is that I concentrate on my job and can do what the team expects of me – and I am more than sure that I can do that,” said the Argentine. “I can’t wait to get in the car tomorrow.”
Photo gallery: The Formula 1 rookies of the past 20 years
In a way, the races are a bonus for him, because it is already clear that he will only be competing in nine races for the rest of the season. Williams has long since signed Carlos Sainz, another driver for 2025, so Colapinto will probably have to make the step back to Formula 2 after that. But he doesn’t care at the moment.
“Of course, I didn’t expect to be racing in Formula 1 in 2025, but now I’ve been given the chance in 2024,” he beams. “So you can imagine how happy I am today. I’m going to grab this opportunity with both hands and try to enjoy it as much as I can.”
Albon sees it positively: No pressure for Colapinto
However, his new teammate Alexander Albon sees the current situation as positive for Colapinto, because the fact that he has no prospect of keeping his cockpit for the coming season takes away the pressure on him to deliver now.
“He doesn’t have to try to get a place for next year. And in a way, that’s just experience,” says the Thai. “I don’t know what he’ll do next year, but the things you learn in Formula 1 can also help you if he does another year in Formula 2.”
“Of course there will be a learning curve, but he’s been in the car a few times, so I don’t think it will be that big of a deal,” says Albon. “But Williams is also great at teaching and showing drivers how to get the best out of themselves. And I will also try to help him as much as I can.”
The only thing Albon thinks might be a problem is physical fitness: “When we come to Qatar or Singapore, it can be a bit difficult to get used to,” he says.
Physical fitness? No problem!
But Colapinto himself does not see this as particularly problematic: “I trained hard,” he clarifies. “Even in one training session I only found out about it late. I drove in Formula 2 in Austria and they told me that I would be driving the first free practice session at Silverstone. And I think that is one of the toughest tracks in terms of g-forces – but I did very well.”
In general, he is always ready for Formula 1 because that was and is his big goal. Even in Formula 2, he mainly prepared for the demands of Formula 1 in case something unforeseen happened – and that’s exactly what happened.
Photo gallery: Formula 1 driver changes during the season over the last 20 years
“Luckily, I’ve been working on it since the beginning of the year, so I feel ready,” said Colapinto. “Qatar will be tougher, I think, but if I feel good in Singapore, then Qatar is on the agenda after that.”
But the 21-year-old doesn’t want to think that far ahead: “It’s only been two days now. Let’s do Monza first and then we’ll see where we are.”
The first Argentine in 23 years
The new Williams driver is under a bit of pressure, however, because he is burdened with the expectations of an entire country. Colapinto is the first Argentinian to make it into Formula 1 in 23 years. Gaston Mazzacane was the last driver to wear the country’s colors in Imola in 2001 – with limited success.
Argentina is a country with a lot of tradition in Formula 1. Jose Froilan Gonzalez was the first Grand Prix winner for Ferrari in 1951, and Carlos Reutemann even became runner-up in the World Championship in 1981.
Photo gallery: Juan Manuel Fangio: Career highlights
But the name that outshines everything is of course Juan Manuel Fangio, who dominated the sport in the 1950s and was the record world champion with five world titles well into the new millennium.
And the fact that Argentinians celebrate their sports stars can be seen not least in football artist Lionel Messi, who pursued a similar career to Colapinto and left his family in South America at an early age to pursue a professional career in Europe. But the youngster does not want to draw the comparison.
I’m not like Messi!
“I see that sometimes they compare me, but then I think: you’re crazy! Messi is God, and how can you compare me? But it’s been 23 years now without a Formula 1 driver from Argentina. So it makes the Argentines very happy because it’s a special moment for everyone – and for me too,” he says.
When he first moved up to Formula 2, the Argentinian fans went crazy, “and now it’s taken to the next level,” he says. “I’m just so extremely proud that I have so much support from my home country – not many drivers have that.”
“After so many years without a driver, the fans are just a little hotter. They watch every post, every race, every moment and whatever I do. And that’s great to see,” said Colapinto.
“We didn’t have the budget for Formula 2, so they helped me on social media to find new sponsors and I think that’s fantastic,” he praises. “I don’t see many fans doing that for their athletes. They’re just super passionate and they get up early to watch the races. I’m just very proud of Argentina as a country.”
From South America to Italy at 14
And, as I have already mentioned, he had to leave this country – his homeland – at an early age. At just 14, he went to Italy alone to gain a foothold in motorsport in Europe. “That’s why I started learning Italian as a small child. Being without my family was a big sacrifice, but in the end it was something I wanted to do.”
“Even as a child, it was very clear in my mind and I knew that the route would lead through Europe,” he says. But life in Italy was very hard for him at the beginning: “I didn’t know how to cook, I didn’t know how to do laundry. I could speak Italian, but it was a complete disaster. And I was completely alone. That was hard,” he says.
But he believes that he matured very quickly there in a very short time, “because I had to do things that I had never done before in my life.”
“And when you come from South America, it’s always harder. You just make more sacrifices than people in Europe who can just go back to their family after a race or maybe fly an hour by plane or drive by car and then sleep in their own bed. And we’re 12,000 kilometers away from family. That was hard.”
But Colapinto has now gotten used to life here and enjoys being in Europe. And in the end, the hardships were worth it, because with Monza, his dream has come true: Colapinto has arrived in Formula 1.
