James Vowles backs Franco Colapinto to match Albon’s performance during his brief tenure with Williams F1.
James Vowles, the Williams F1 team principal, believes that Franco Colapinto won’t overreach during his interim stint with the team at the end of this season. He thinks the Argentine knows he doesn’t need to prove himself in this period, yet remains ambitious.
“He has nothing to prove to the world,” Vowles stated. “Other drivers have something to prove to the world. That means you won’t see this driver trying to show everyone that he deserves his place in this world.”
“He knows he has time to build himself. We started at Monza because he has at least the experience of Monza in this situation, which is important for him. Then, what we expect from him, in his own words, not mine, is that he knows how to progress race after race.”
“He did the same thing in Formula 2 this year. If you look at where he started and where he is now, it’s a very different situation between the two. And the way you do that is by building yourself up with a method that is systematic, and he has that at his disposal.”
“He himself says that by the end of the year, he should match Alex [Albon] and along the way, he should be closing the gap every race weekend. I think these are realistic goals. These are not goals I have set for him.”
“What I told him was rather to enjoy the present moment and appreciate the aspect of things. Not to think about the millions of details that come up and focus on those that generate milliseconds of performance and use them as an experience gain. That’s the goal he set for himself, and I think it’s quite reasonable.”
Williams’ “responsibility” toward Colapinto
Vowles assures that Colapinto will remain within the Williams fold and that the team will help him progress even if he can’t be a main driver in 2025, since Carlos Sainz and Albon will be the drivers: “Even before he made it to F1, we were already envisioning his future.”
“As a member of our academy, our responsibility is to work with him, with the teams around him as well, to determine where his future lies. And there are opportunities in other racing series. As I said, depending on his performances, the future is to some extent in his hands.”
“What I mean by that is if he delivers exceptional performances, it’s clear he will stay here as a reserve driver, and we will invest in him in terms of TPC testing and other elements that we are able to do with him at the same time.”
“Other teams may become interested in him, depending on his performances. So, he has a future in that regard. And Formula 1 is fickle. Look at what has changed in six months, let alone a year.”
“So no one here around this table really knows what the opportunities will be with the teams in 2025 or 2026, truly. So, you’re investing in someone who, in my opinion, will have opportunities and there are still slots available on the grid.”
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Vowles: Colapinto Set to Match Albon in F1 Stint Vowles: Colapinto Set to Match Albon in F1 Stint
