2024 Formula 1 driver rankings #17: Colapinto · RaceFans

Surely nobody had Franco Colapinto down as a driver who might make his Formula 1 debut last year – never mind make such an impression he would be courted by the likes of Red Bull and Alpine.

Colapinto’s debut was a case study in the value of positioning yourself for an opportunity and taking advantage of it. He had a matter of days to prepare himself for his grand prix debut at Monza after Williams terminated Logan Sargeant’s contract.

Despite not being fully comfortable in the FW46, which he’d driven just once previously in practice at Silverstone, Colapinto impressed Williams enormously on his debut. His first qualifying performance was scruffy, but he gained six places in the race while in some considerable discomfort in an unfamiliar cockpit.

Remarkably, he then picked up points in two of the next three races. He pounced on Nico Hulkenberg for 10th in Baku, then gained two more places after a late crash. He struggled for fitness somewhat in Singapore, yet still came home 11th after a gutsy first-lap move, then bagged 10th at the Circuit of the Americas.

After being harshly penalised in Mexico for a collision with Liam Lawson, Colapinto endured a more difficult end to the season, and contributed to Williams’s growing parts shortage. He crashed twice in one day at Interlagos, admittedly in very tough conditions, then suffered another heavy impact during qualifying at Las Vegas. His retirements from the final two races were largely the work of other drivers, though he did give Williams a further headache by damaging his floor in Abu Dhabi.

Colapinto’s nine races in F1 so far have shown pace but also some raggedness. Nonetheless if he can polish out the mistakes, as other rookies before him have done, there is clear potential here.

RaceFans’ driver rankings are based partly on the scores awarded to drivers for their performances in each round as well as other factors.

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