Colapinto insists confidence ‘not going down’ after crashes

Franco Colapinto has insisted that he is not letting his confidence drop after heavy crashes during the last two race weekends in Las Vegas and Sao Paulo, with the Argentinian not concerned by the possibility that the incidents could affect his chances of landing a seat on the grid in the future.

It has been a tough run for the Williams team of late, the Grove squad having faced a particularly challenging time in Brazil when both Colapinto and team mate Alex Albon crashed out of a rain-affected qualifying session.

While Albon’s car was unable to be repaired in time for the race, Colapinto still participated – but then brought out the red flags when he hit the barriers during the Grand Prix.

Another particularly heavy crash occurred as qualifying took place in Las Vegas, an incident from which the 21-year-old fortunately escaped unharmed following a 50G impact.

Asked ahead of this weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix if these recent crashes could lead to teams believing he needs more experience before being considered for a seat, Colapinto explained: “No, I’m showing what I can do. The confidence is not going down because of that, I think that’s the important part.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - NOVEMBER 23: Franco Colapinto of Argentina driving the (43) Williams FW46 — Colapinto ended the Las Vegas Grand Prix in 14th place following his heavy crash in qualifying

“I am fully confident and I trust in what the team can do and I know what I can do. We still have two races to go, we are going to push until the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi and try to maximise what we have. Of course, it wasn’t ideal in the last two races.

“There were five great races, the ones before, and two that we struggled. In Vegas I was feeling very good, very confident with the car, I was doing good laps in qualifying and unfortunately that last run in Q2 was very messy. It put me in a situation to push more the limits and get closer to the walls. I just got a bit too close. It’s part of the process.”

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In terms of whether he is more conscious of the team’s limited resources whilst behind the wheel, he added: “I think there are moments for everything. There are moments to think about that, to think about the parts and the spares, and there are moments to push the limits.

“In Vegas I was very cautious in FP1/2/3 and then in qualifying you have to push the limits and you have to get close to the walls. This is what we do, and you have to take the risks. Unfortunately it went a little bit too much, but it’s part of motorsport and it happens.

“There are always these things happening and they are around your head when there are not enough spares and the team is doing a very big effort to arrive with the parts for the two cars. Here, I’m not going to have the latest spec but it is what it is. We have to keep pushing forward, maximise what we have in the car and I’m sure the engineers, the team are pushing the limits.”

Colapinto 'fully recovered' after Vegas crash and 'fully confident' for Qatar GP

Looking ahead to the weekend in Qatar – which will play host to the final Sprint of the season – Colapinto is keen to race at the Lusail International Circuit, in the country where his nation Argentina won the FIFA World Cup in 2022.

“Very excited for the weekend here in Qatar,” the Williams driver said. “It’s a special place for all Argentinians. As a country we went through a lot of happiness here in Qatar. I am very happy to be here and to race in Formula 1, to be able to represent my country.

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“I’m sure it’s going to be a very special weekend for all of us, especially for me. To race in Qatar is going to be a very unique moment. I’m fully recovered from Vegas. That weekend wasn’t easy but we learn from it. We are bouncing back stronger here.

“[We’re] going to need to understand the car a little bit, how it’s going to work here in Qatar. After Vegas we’re running the old spec in the front suspension in my car, so some old bits in my car that we need to understand how they work – quickly, because of course on a Sprint weekend there is not much time to understand the set-up and how the car works. I’m sure we can figure it out and try to maximise the car.”