Why confused Franco Colapinto ‘couldn’t even go straight’ on his Williams F1 debut

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Franco Colapinto has transformed his racing career in the past month or so. The Williams academy driver graduated from Formula 2 to replace Logan Sargeant at the start of August.

Colapinto was faring well in the feeder series with a victory, two podiums and 10 top-six finishes to his name. But very few were talking about him as a future F1 driver.

Even after sacking Sargeant, James Vowles tried to sign Liam Lawson at first. Red Bull insisted that they be able to recall the New Zealander before the end of the season if necessary.

Even Vowles has been surprised by Colapinto’s start, given that he wasn’t first choice. He scored four points in just his second race with the team and has been a match for Alex Albon over a single lap at the last two events.

The Argentine will lose his seat at the end of the year, though he knew that at the outset. The team had already agreed a deal with departing Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz.

But Guenther Steiner says Colapinto will put Albon under pressure as a long-term contender for a full-time drive. Audi are also interested in Colapinto but they may be opposed to signing a driver on loan.

Franco Colapinto baffled by Williams steering wheel on first outing

Colapinto featured in a Formula 1 session for the first time at Silverstone back in July. He replaced Sargeant in FP1 and impressively lapped just over four-tenths slower than Albon.

He then completed his first full weekend at Monza after Sargeant left for good. The 21-year-old was disappointed to qualify 18th but recovered well to finish 12th.

Speaking to El Hormiguero, he recalled his struggles with the Williams steering wheel. He couldn’t ‘figure out’ which buttons he needed to press.

That meant he wasn’t able to control the car despite the stream of instructions from the pit wall. F1 wheels are famously complex, featuring around 25 buttons that each control an array of different settings.

Colapinto said: “There are many red buttons that are better not to touch and there are other buttons that you have to touch. The thing is that you go very fast and at the beginning, since I was not used to the speed at which things happen, it was difficult for me to focus on which button to touch. 

“And then I had a guy on the radio who was talking to me every 5 seconds and at the beginning I couldn’t even go straight because of the grey, I would go into the grass. It took me a couple of minutes to figure out which button to touch.”

Tom Clarkson will ‘never forget’ what Franco Colapinto did in his first Formula 1 interview

While he overwhelmed at first, Colapinto has stunned the F1 world with the speed of his adaptation. In theory, he should improve further in the final six races, further boosting his prospects.

Christian Horner called Colapinto ‘exceptional’, which highlights Red Bull’s newfound admiration. Helmut Marko may investigate whether he can bring the youngster into his driver academy.

He’s had to deal with a dramatic increase in scrutiny and attention, but he’s handled it expertly. Indeed, F1 presenter Tom Clarkson will ‘never forget’ Colapinto’s first press conference.

It looked as if he was about to ‘light a cigar’, so relaxed was his demeanour. With huge marketing potential in Argentina, he offers a compelling all-round package for any suitors.