Franco Colapinto admits that he would have liked to have had a starting place in 2025, and that he hoped that things would work out for him on the Stake F1 side. But it was Gabriel Bortoleto who got the place, and the current Williams driver is a good player against the man he raced against this year in Formula 2.
“Oui” said Colapinto, when asked if he was disappointed to miss out on driving at Stake F1. “It’s always one less wheel to have the chance to drive next year, it’s never nice. But Gabriel really deserves it.”
“He's a good guy, he's very fast and he's obviously a presence at Stake. We'll see what the future holds… but from what I understand, Stake was over for a while. time and wasn't an option for us. So we'll see what happens.”
Victim of a big accident in Las Vegas, the Argentinian claims to have recovered, and explains that his boss, James Vowles, was not happy about it but that he still supported him: “He wasn't very happy, but he was always very supportive, and I take very positive things out of every bad moment.”
“And it's always because of James, his way of thinking, his mentality and his way of moving forward as a team leader and as a team, and I think I I've learned a lot from him. He's been an amazing team leader in the short time I've worked with him and I know how important that is to him and to me.”
“But when these things happen, when two difficult weekends follow one another, the mentality and the will to keep moving forward, to get back up and find a solution to the problem is his strength. He always finds positive in the negative is very important and it’s what will allow this team to return to the top.”
Colapinto 'doesn't feel the pressure' after his crashes
Asked about the fact that the pressure is increasing more and more with his accidents, Colapinto puts things into perspective: “Honestly, I don't feel it too much. In motorsport there are always ups and downs. And you know, the last two races were a little less good.”
“I had five big races, then I had a very difficult Brazil, and then Vegas went very well. I think I was doing a very good job and getting into the rhythm until that little mistake in qualifying.”
“And the race went in a really good rhythm again, it was great. But unfortunately those little moments that happened, and just really small details that don't go your way, have a big cost .”
He is also not afraid that this will have a bad influence on his image: “The confidence is not going down because of that. I am confident in what the team can do. I have two more races and I will try to maximize what I have.”
“I had a very good race pace in Las Vegas with the mediums, I just lost time with the hard tires. But it was a good race with a good recovery after the accident. I hope to be fast here in Qatar.”
Colapinto is now hoping to have a good weekend in Qatar, a country where Argentina won the 2022 FIFA World Cup: “As a country we have been happy here in Qatar, and I am happy to race there and represent my country, it will be a unique moment.”
“After a difficult weekend, we learned lessons and we should be faster. We need to understand the car better, some old parts that we need to understand quickly because it's a Sprint weekend. We will trying to maximize the pace of the car.”
