AUSTIN — Cameras follow Franco Colapinto everywhere he goes, smiling.
F1's newest star has built a passionate fan base in just three races, with the Williams driver himself telling the media on Thursday: “No other F1 driver has more fan support than I do.” That fan base is likely to grow even more as his performance in Friday's sprint qualifying saw him advance to SQ3 and he will start from 10th on the grid at lights out on Saturday.
If Colapinto hadn't made a mistake in the early push laps of SQ3, he might have started even higher on the grid. Colapinto spun in Turn 1 at the end of the steep slope at the start of the lap and was unable to regain time for the remainder of the lap.
Still, the team's sporting director Sven Smeets emphasized what a great track the Circuit of the Americas was, which was the young driver's first experience, calling it a “great performance”.
“Franco got into SQ2 with a good lap and got into SQ3 with his only push lap. In SQ3 he made a mistake and had to settle for 10th in the end,” Smeets said of the team's qualifying I talked about it in a later report. “In just one free practice session, we showed a great performance on the new track.”
Colapinto was a bit harsh in his assessment, expressing his dissatisfaction with his mistakes in SQ3.
“It was a good sprint qualifying session. I was in a good position to beat the cars around me but I made a mistake in Turn 1 and it cost me so I'm frustrated with myself. I was trying to make up time. Unfortunately, I didn't have a clean lap in Q3 and I felt like I should have been in the top eight,” Colapinto said. “We need to learn from this and continue to understand the limits of the tires. But we only spent an hour learning the track in this car, so while we have made some progress, there is still room for improvement. I felt like it was there. We'll start closer to the point tomorrow, so let's see what we can do.”
There was frustration beyond the garage as Alexander Albon missed out on qualifying for SQ2 after enduring a dramatic spin in SQ1.
In a way, this was an incredible save from Albon, as this spin in SQ1 could have ended much differently.
“It was my mistake today. I could have avoided that curb, but in sprint qualifying I chose a slightly harder car compared to FP1, so I felt it was a little too hard in each session,” Albon said. . “The car will get us into SQ2, so I don't think we need to make too many changes. It's more that the tires have flat spots and won't be usable for tomorrow's race.” , I need to see what I can do with my current race run. ”
But the talk of the moment is Colapinto, who is well placed to score his second points of his short F1 career. Considering his performances so far, it may become increasingly difficult to deny him one of the final spots on the grid next season. Colapinto remains in contention for the Sauber seat alongside Nico Hulkenberg, and days like this one, even a spin at Turn 1, will only help his cause.
