Colapinto reflects on stunning Q3 performance in Baku

From hitting the barriers in Free Practice 1 to making the final segment of qualifying in only his second ever outing – Franco Colapinto witnessed quite the turnaround in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend, as he spearheaded a double Williams Q3 performance at the Baku City Circuit.

A relatively low-speed slide into the wall in FP1 for former Formula 2 racer Colapinto – who replaced Logan Sargeant for the remainder of the season last time out at Monza – left the Williams mechanics scrambling to fix his car in time for FP2 on Friday.

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But come qualifying day, the Argentinian driver looked assured, backing up his top-10 pace from FP3 with P9 on the grid for his second ever Grand Prix, as team mate Alex Albon took P10 – following a bizarre Q3 incident where Albon was sent out with an extractor fan still in the airbox of his Williams FW46.

“It was a good turnaround, I think, from FP1, with the little mistake I made,” said Colapinto. “I think I made [up] for it. The team is really happy, I think I performed every lap. We had… something on the car that hurt me a little bit in the last run; I really struggled with the rear tyres during all the lap and I started sliding them and just hurting them very early in the lap. So I struggled with that.

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“But very happy with the session. We were on it at the moment we needed to be and we got into Q3 which was the big, big target. I’m feeling every time better and more comfortable with the car, more comfortable with the team. So I think it’s a good direction to go and we’re doing well, we’re doing the steps needed, and I think there’s potential tomorrow for points.”

Colapinto duly became the first Argentine driver to qualify in the top 10 since Carlos Reutemann at the 1982 Brazilian Grand Prix. But asked whether he could become the first Argentinian to take points in a race since Reutemann in that same Grand Prix, Colapinto replied: “Well if I arrived, I guess I can stay as well!

Colapinto thrilled after hitting ‘big big target’ of making Q3 in Baku

“Let’s see. But I think in Monza I had really good pace. There are still a lot of things to learn. With my mistake in FP1, I couldn’t do a long run, so that’s of course going to hurt me tomorrow, but I think we can do a good prep tonight with the engineers, go through all the data and understand where I can improve.”

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Williams are searching for just their fourth points finish of 2024 in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with Alex Albon having taken P9 last time out at Monza.