Colapinto reveals what was a "big shock" for him in Formula One
Alpine driver Franco Colapinto has revealed that it was a "big shock" for him to work in a much more professional environment with many engineers compared to what he had experienced in junior formulae.
Having been a member of the Williams Driver Academy since 2023, Franco Colapinto made his Formula One debut with Williams at year's Italian Grand Prix, replacing Logan Sargeant for the remainder of the 2024 season.
With his debut, he became the first Argentine driver to compete in Formula One since Gastón Mazzacane in 2001. Colapinto scored his maiden points finish at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, repeating this feat in the United States.
With Carlos Sainz having joined Alexander Albon at Williams, Colapinto moved to Alpine to take on the reserve driver's role for 2025. The Buenos Aires-born driver was quickly promoted to a race seat, having replaced Jack Doohan after just six rounds.
Having almost spent a full year in Formula One by now, Colapinto has been asked to reveal what he has learned in the past months at Williams and Alpine, the Argentinean driver stated:"I think, you know, Formula 2 is a great championship, but it still doesn't fully prepare you for F1. I learned a lot of things over these last few races.
"Since I started in Williams, to start working with so many engineers — suddenly you’ve got 30 engineers in a room compared to two or three in Formula 2 — and that’s a pretty big shock.
Colapinto continued: "Being able to communicate, to learn and listen to what they have to say, work with so many people — it's a massive team. You’re putting in a big effort trying to go quick to score points for 1,000-plus people that are in a factory building the quickest car for two guys, throwing it on track.
"So it's a big job, and it’s a lot of effort that everyone is putting in to make the car go quick, whereas other categories are quite a lot smaller. Over the races, you just learn a lot of things. Experience matters a lot. That’s why Nico and Fernando are here next to me, they have so much knowledge.
"And when those special moments and special opportunities come — like last weekend in Silverstone — they are always a step up there. So, yeah, it comes with time, but it's definitely quite different to F2 and F3," Colapinto concluded.
