The Argentine pilot Franco Colapinto said that he will start from scratch after replacing the Australian Jack Doohan in the Alpine team, owned by Renault, from the Formula One Grand Prix of Emilia-Romaña to be played this weekend in the Italian Circuit of Imola.
Colapinto, 21, continues to count like a rookie despite having run nine times for Williams at the end of last season after replacing the American Logan Sargeant.
“Everything is new again. We start from scratch,” he told reporters on Thursday. “Of course, they are never pleasant circumstances when it happens, when you get in the seat of another pilot, but you never really choose the moment you do in Formula one. I simply accept it, I try to do my best and try to maximize it for work.”
Lee: Piastri arrives leader to Icola, who marks the return of Colapinto to F1
Colapinto added five points with Williams and unleashed a wave of enthusiasm in Argentina after becoming his country’s first pilot in the F1 in 23 years. His return doubles the South American presence, since the Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto, of Sauber, was the only representative in the first six races.
Colapinto said that he feels a bit “oxidized” and that five races – the number that has been told to complete before a new evaluation by the team – will not be enough to catch up fully in an unknown car. He has been very busy in the simulator and last week he piloted an old Alpine F1 in the Dutch Circuit of Zandvoort.
The Argentine debuted with Williams in Monza last year and is delighted that his return is in Icola, another Italian circuit with good memories of the lower categories.
“I am much more relaxed. I have had the experience of running, I have had the experience of being in a race weekend with a different team,” he said about the difference between his debut with Williams and now. “I still have that feeling, I’ve been running in December, so it’s not so far.”
“I don’t feel the same as in Monza. Monza was very exciting, everything was new, it was the first time I was going to be part of a formula one grill. Here it is a bit different,” he said.
Lee: Colapinto excited to face a week of racing for the first time since December
“It is still my dream come true, so the sensations are the same, but now I want to work with the team. It’s not just about the dream of becoming a F1 pilot, but about working for the objectives of the team”
With Reuters information
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