Williams Racing Formula 1 Team unveiled its 2024 challenger, the FW46 on Monday and attending the launch was Academy Driver Franco Colapinto.
Motorsport Week had the chance to speak with the young Argentine driver the week before the unveiling where he exclusively revealed the sensations of getting behind the wheel of an F1 car for the first time in the 2023 post-season test in Abu Dhabi.
Colapinto, 20, had a busy time in Abu Dhabi last November – after finishing his Formula 3 career at Monza earlier in the year with a stylish Sprint victory, he made his Formula 2 race debut with MP Motorsport at the Yas Marina Circuit.
With the F2 debut wrapped up and the season over, Colpainto emulated the late, great Carlos Reutemann as an Argentine driver stepping into the driver’s seat of a Williams F1 car when he was afforded the chance to test the FW45 and he described the “insane” feeling of getting behind the wheel.
“It’s a very different feeling than anything else you can imagine,” Colapinto told Motorsport Week.
“Unfortunately, Formula 2 is very far away from Formula 1 and Formula 3 as well, so it doesn’t prepare you very well for what a Formula 1 car is.
“I think I did a very good job in the preparation because to jump straight into a Formula 1 car for the first time ever, you know, in Abu Dhabi, full of people that have been driving that car in the weekend or have been, you know, testing a F1 car before, I think it was always going to be really difficult and I did a very good job in Abu Dhabi. So it was a great day for me.
“It was a dream come true since the first time I left the garage It was an incredible feeling.
“They [the engineers] tell you more or less how it is and how it feels to drive it and you know how physically demanding it is, but you don’t really understand how much it is until you finally drive it.
“So the feelings and the sensations you get when you drive the fastest car in the world, it’s something unbelievable.
“I enjoyed every lap, every corner, I really enjoyed it.
“When I came back the first time into the garage, after the outing, I was like, ‘wow, I’m here, I’m driving a Formula One car. I made it.’
“I was just, you know, very happy and trying to enjoy every moment because you don’t know when it’s going to happen again, of course.
“Once you get there and once you get to that dream that you had as a young kid, It’s not like a dream anymore it starts to become a goal and a target because you see it getting closer and closer.
“So yeah, it was an incredible day. I loved it.”
Colapinto will be campaigning a full season of Formula 2 as a rookie in 2024 with MP Motorsport after finishing fourth in last year’s F3 standings.
His sophomore F3 campaign in 2023 came with the support of Williams, having been inducted into the Grove-based squad’s Driver Academy in January last year.
Colapinto credits Williams with “being super supportive” and is delighted that an outfit steeped in such history continues to rally behind him.
“I learned so many things since I joined Williams. I think it is one of the best academies. I think it’s one of the teams that are giving a lot of opportunities and a lot of chances to their drivers to grow.
“They are really helping me quite a lot,” Colapinto said.
“So I’m just grateful to be here in such a historic team with a very, very big legacy in Formula One.
“It’s an honour to be part of Williams I’m really happy to be part of the team and I’m very grateful for the opportunity they gave me to jump in a Formula One car, for the trust of James [Vowles], all the team.
“It [testing] was a unique experience and as I said before it was a dream come true so you know I’m just super happy to be here and I hope we can continue this journey for many more years together and yeah let’s hope they have a good year as well.
“The car [FW46] is looking great for the 2024 season and I hope they can do another step this year.
“It was a great 2023 actually for them so let’s hope, for me in F2 and for them in F1, it’s going well this year.”
