Franco Colapinto asks Williams for change after ‘so much pain’ on Formula 1 debut

Follow us on Google Discover

Franco Colapinto was left asking his Williams team for an important change following his debut race in Formula 1 at Monza.

The 21-year-old was the first Argentine to take part in a Grand Prix since Gaston Mazzacane in 2001, managing to finish in P13 having started from P17 on the grid.

Williams brought Franco Colapinto in for the final nine races to boost their chances of finishing higher and potentially scoring points, as they fight to achieve seventh in the Constructors’ Championship.

Colapinto also brings in a significant amount of sponsorship money, with a report suggesting that he could be bringing in £420,000 per-race for Williams.

When discussing his first race over F1 team radio to team principal James Vowles, Colapinto made one request to his team for the next eight rounds.

Franco Colapinto makes seat request after ‘painful’ Italian GP

Rookie drivers often struggle in their first F1 race due to not being used to the physical demands, with the Italian GP being one of the hottest so far this season.

Colapinto said he was in ‘pain’ during much of the race due to not having an optimal seat design in his FW46.

“You were right. I was gonna have pain after this race. Wow. I never had so much pain in a race car before. We need to do some things to the seat. But I really enjoy it, thanks very much,” said Colapinto.

Drivers usually have seats moulded around them and while Colapinto will have that luxury, he will need to make adjustments having not run in the car before this weekend.

Franco Colapinto impresses on Williams debut

Colapinto was given a late call-up to Williams after the team elected to drop Logan Sargeant, following a disappointing run of races that ended in a big crash over the Dutch GP weekend.

The American was always going to be replaced at the end of the season when Williams announced Carlos Sainz would pair Alex Albon for 2025, but Vowles and the team ran out of patience with Sargeant.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Williams Racing from team principal to Mercedes relationship

Colapinto was due to race in Formula 2 at Monza but found himself in the Williams car for the first time, and impressed Karun Chandhok early on when he compared him to Mercedes protege Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

Martin Brundle highlighted where he thinks Colapinto ‘needs to be’ compared to Albon, but it appears that he is getting close to the long-time Williams driver and could make the difference that Sargeant could not.