Alexander Albon is beaten by a teammate in qualifying for the first time since July 2022: Franco Colapinto dedicates P9 to his mechanics
Franco Colapinto was one of the surprises of Formula 1 qualifying in Azerbaijan. In only his second qualifying session in the premier class, the Williams driver qualified ninth on the grid, leaving his team-mate Alexander Albon behind him
“It’s a very important moment for Williams and a dream come true for me,” said the Argentinian in an interview after the session. “It was difficult after yesterday, but we made a very good comeback, so we are happy. “
Colapinto relieved: P9 is for the mechanics
In the first free practice session yesterday, Colapinto crashed his Williams FW45 in the fourth corner, giving his mechanics a headache. The rear axle was so badly damaged that the lunch break had to be canceled so that Colapinto could get back on the track in the second practice session. After qualifying, his thanks therefore go to the mechanics.
“They worked flat out to get my car onto the track in FP2,” he says. “After that, they gave me a big boost of confidence and a lot of energy to get a good result for them for the effort they’ve put in this year.”
“It was nice to be able to give them back a little bit of what they gave me today. I’m very happy about that. Of course, there is still a long way to go, but it is always an important moment when you are in Q3. And I actually drove very good laps and I can’t wait for tomorrow. “
Albon beaten by teammate in qualifying for the first time since 2022
Colapinto also achieved a feat with his ninth place, as Alexander Albon has not been beaten by his own team-mate in qualifying for more than two years. The last time Nicholas Latifi achieved this feat was at Silverstone in the 2022 season.
Although Albon was unable to complete his final Q3 lap due to strange circumstances, Williams team boss James Vowles feels that Colapinto’s performance confirms that the decision to bring Logan Sargeant in for the Argentinian after the Dutch Grand Prix was the right one.
Vowles: Now the world sees he’s earned his chance
“I hope the world can see what we’ve seen and why he deserves a chance at this seat,” Vowles said after qualifying. “He’s done me proud. He really did.”
“After that mistake, he did what we asked him to do, which was to slowly work his way back up to FT3. And qualifying is qualifying, that’s where you can shine. And his laps were good. There was a small mistake. He will be very disappointed himself, but without the mistake of about three tenths in the castle section, he would be in an even stronger position for tomorrow. But regardless of that, he’s fighting with Alex after two races in his Formula 1 career. That’s enormously strong. That’s a good accolade. “
In fact, Colapinto admits that he could have beaten Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin. In the end, however, the Spaniard set a lap that was a little less than two tenths faster. “Of course I would have been a bit happier if I had finished ahead of Aston,” he says, but: ‘We made a small step on the set-up for the last run, which didn’t really work. ’
Williams aims for points with both drivers
After the strong qualifying performance, can Colapinto now expect his first points in Formula 1? Vowles thinks it’s possible: “The long runs on Friday were competitive compared to Aston Martin. They were in a strong position. So we should at least be able to fight with them. But we want to finish in the points with both cars.”
However, the long runs also showed that Williams and Colapinto in particular had problems with tire management. That’s why the 21-year-old doesn’t want to rush things for the Grand Prix: “I think we still have a lot of work to do. The degradation here is very high and very big, so we need to understand how we can improve that.”
“Traction is crucial, so I need to understand how to keep the tires alive, and that’s just part of the process, but I think it’s going very well. We already made very good steps in Monza, so I’m happy about that. “