Williams star Franco Colapinto told he might need security at one upcoming F1 race this year

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A driver making their debut in Formula 1 is always a huge event, particularly when it takes place halfway through a season.

However, for young Williams rookie Franco Colapinto, the Italian Grand Prix may have been the perfect time to step up to F1 from Formula 2 with local wonderkid Kimi Antonelli also making his first appearance for Mercedes during the race weekend.

Antonelli’s FP1 session only lasted 10 minutes before a huge crash at the final hairpin saw him sheepishly return to the Mercedes garage, only to be confirmed as Lewis Hamilton’s replacement the following day.

For Colapinto, Monza turned out to be the ideal place to start his Formula 1 career as the track was relatively simple and he only finished two positions outside the points despite a mistake in qualifying leaving him further down the grid than he should have been.

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The next two races in Baku and Singapore will be much more difficult with any mistake punished on the narrow street circuits.

Kym Illman is a photographer in the paddock and speaking on his YouTube channel, addressed the 21-year-old’s start to life in F1.

Colapinto has quickly gained a huge fanbase in South America with Sergio Perez the only driver from that region currently on the grid.

Argentina haven’t had an F1 driver since Gaston Mazzacane but the country has a serious motorsports pedigree with Juan Manuel Fangio a multiple F1 world champion and Carlos Reutemann one of the fastest drivers in the 1970s.

Illman believes that the number of fans coming to watch Colapinto at the Brazilian Grand Prix may require Williams to provide security for the youngster.

The race at Interlagos is a fan favourite and always produces a brilliant spectacle.

Colapinto will hope he’s fully up to speed by then to give the travelling Argentinian fans something to celebrate.

Franco Colapinto might need security at the Brazilian Grand Prix

Talking about Colapinto’s rise to Formula 1, Illman said: “I can also tell you that Argentinian fans are some of the most fanatic in the world.

“Every post that I put up is peppered with Argentinian flags and with his promotion to F1, his support will skyrocket.

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“In fact, it’s already skyrocketed if you look at his numbers on Instagram.

“Let’s talk about the Brazil race in early November, there will be a sea of Argentinian support there because I tell you I think it’s only a two-and-a-half hour flight from Buenos Aires to Sao Paulo.

“And it wouldn’t surprise me if Williams had to organise security for him at that event.”

James Vowles shares his verdict on Franco Colapinto’s Formula 1 debut

Colapinto only had a few days to prepare for his first race weekend at Monza but that didn’t stop plenty of fans with Argentinian flags finding their way into the grandstands.

The 21-year-old got closer to teammate Alex Albon than many would have expected and he would have had a chance to score points if he had made it through to Q2 as expected.

Colapinto admitted being in a lot of pain after the race but Albon admitted he was really impressed by one aspect of Colapinto’s performance.

Vowles admitted that Colapinto put ‘one foot wrong’ at one point during his debut weekend but that’s to be expected with so little experience.

Baku will represent a much tougher test for him but he’ll already be looking forward to the races where he knows he’ll have a huge amount of support from the crowd.