Photo by Song Haiyuan/MB Media/Getty Images
F1’s newest star is taking his sudden stardom in stride.
AUSTIN — In the middle of Formula 1’s newest star’s media appearance at the United States Grand Prix, Franco Colapinto paused mid-answer and looked down at the table in front of him.
One of the media member’s phones was not recording the interview, and F1’s newest driver wanted to make sure that media member got what they needed. He stopped to make sure the phone was recording before continuing, pressing the record button himself.
But it is that attitude that has made Colapinto such an immediate star, and that attention to detail that has seen him enjoy such success just three races after being thrown into motorsport’s deep end. When Williams decided to promote Colapinto mid-season, replacing Logan Sargeant, it came with Colapinto sitting seventh in the F2 Drivers’ Championship standings. All the young Argentinian has done over three race weekends is validate that move, including an emphatic ninth-place finish at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, his first time driving the Baku City Circuit.
Thursday in Austin, Colapinto addressed being hit with a “bucket of cold water,” as he put it.
“Everything came very quick and it’s I said before, it was like a bucket of cold water,” said Colapinto to the media, including SB Nation, on Thursday. “I tried to do, you know, the best I could. And to do all the basics, right, and to drive as as quick as I could.”
Colapinto has certainly done that, and more, in just three F1 race weekends. But the United States Grand Prix poses a new set of challenges, as it will be his first F1 Sprint race weekend. That means just one practice session before the lap times count for real.
“Of course, coming into a Sprint weekend is gonna be difficult,” said Colapinto. “It’s not going to be easy to only have one practice in still a car that I have knowledge [of], but not so much. So I still have a lot of things to learn.”
That includes navigating what Colapinto described as the first “high-speed” track in his F1 career.
“I think we can say that it is the first high-speed track I’ve had since I started racing Formula One. So there are many challenges, and there are many new things again.”
Colapinto did his best to set expectations heading into the weekend.
“So expectations are zero, and we are step by step, and see where we end up, same as the other races,” added Colapinto, before outlining how the three-week break had helped him reset. “It was very important that these three weeks were good and were very useful before, getting to the team better, to work on the things I had to work on.”
Colapinto also talked about how racing in America was something he was waiting for, having spent the bulk of his young career racing in Europe.
“I was really waiting for this,” started Colapinto. “And it is very special.
“Of course, I have all my life raced in Europe and maybe a week in Australia, something like that. But I never raced in America, and that’s closer to home. And so I’ve been really waiting for these three rounds.
“It is very special, of course.
“So my dream would be to race in Argentina and to race in Buenos Aires. But that’s not happening. And this the closest three races that we have.
And I know many fans are gonna be here, and I know many fans are gonna be in Mexico, and more in Brazil.”
Colapinto also talked about how his sudden stardom is playing out back home in Argentina, noting how his success has captivated the minds of fans back home, young and old.
“I don’t see any Formula One driver that has as much support as I from their fans, and you know it shows that it’s also very important, and it does push you forward a little bit,” described Colapinto. “And to get all these messages of support, to get all the fans coming to the races to support you, it is very nice and it does, you know, make you push a little bit harder for you to what you want.
“It’s something very special and I am very happy to be the next Argentinian in Formula One and to have all these kids that they are overwhelmed,” continued Colapinto. “They’re very happy to see a Formula One driver for the first time from their country and to all these kids that are getting into motorsport because they are like, ‘[w]ow, I love Formula One now,’ and they are getting into a sport.
“And, you know, motorsport in Argentina is going a lot different due to this. So it’s really good what is happening there in the country.”
The young driver outlined how he feels that the upcoming three races — Austin, Mexico City, and São Paulo, are almost home races for him.
“So it’s it’s gonna feel almost like home, I think at least Brazil, and I am very excited about it,” continued Colapinto. “I have a lot of support from the fans from Argentina to race close to where my home is, and it’s something I’ve been waiting for and something I’ve been dreaming of.
“And it’s happening now. Very exciting times.”
That dream continues this week in Austin for Colapinto.
