Franco Colapinto talks about his social media boost he’s had post his F1 debut, as he talks about the seat change he’s had to undertake.
A driver coming off from anywhere outside United Kingdom and or Europe, generally has a large base which he/she brings along. It is especially the case for drivers hailing from South America. As evident, Sergio Perez already has a huge base from Mexico.
Now with Williams giving Colapinto a run in F1, he has brought along a huge contingent of Argentine supporters too. They have much to celebrate too considering that he is the first to make it to the pinnacle of motor racing after 23 years of waiting.
Colapinto generally likes to interact with his fans, but the F1 boom has made it difficult for him to handle, as he has had to bring in his community manager to help. “I always enjoy to interact with the people,” he said. “Luckily, the Argentinian fans are amazing. And in one way, they help me a little bit to get to where I am now.
“So it’s always nice to interact with them. Not many drivers do. And it’s always nice to have a little bit of time. I already did before, but now it just went a bit more crazy. I’m already deleting all the social media, so that’s gone probably! And my community manager will have to deal a little bit more with it. But just fully focused on the weekends.
“And of course, it’s amazing to have so much support from your country. As I said before, you never choose when you get to Formula 1. And it’s just a moment that I’m luckily enjoying a lot. And yeah, just trying to make the most out of it. I knew it was going to be like this. It’s been 23 years since an Argentinian driver got to Formula 1 the last time.
“And there was so much need of the country. They love sports. And there was so much need from Argentina to have a Formula 1 driver on the grid. They are very, very big motor sport fans. To be honest, I would have loved when I was very little to have someone in Formula 1 to be able to support, to be able to wake up in the mornings and watch the races. And I didn’t have that.
“And of course, it’s a pleasure that it’s me now, the one that is here, and that so many young kids are starting in go-karts because they are seeing now the races and because motor sport is getting a little bit more and more famous and to more people in their houses. Unfortunately, I didn’t have that person to be cheering for, but it’s amazing that I can see so many people now happy, enjoying, as I am doing here in Formula 1, but also from their houses, cheering and supporting so much,” summed up Colapinto.
His first weekend in Monza went well, which was followed by first points in Baku and a near miss in Singapore. He revealed that Lando Norris was first to text him after the news broke that he got the F1 drive. And during the drivers’ parade in Monza, others chipped in with advice. Teammate Alexander Albon has been on case to guide him.
Apart from learning the car and tracks, the only problem he faced was with his race seat which the team managed to fix up before Baku’s race. “Actually, the first message I received was from Lando, as soon as it got announced,” said Colapinto. “He just won the race before, and he sent me a message. So he was very nice, very polite.
“And I’ve been speaking in the Drivers’ Parade later with the guys, with Charles, Lando, Alex and they have been giving me some tips and some things to be aware of. Some things I have been struggling with, that they have helped. But it is very difficult. Until you don’t drive the car, it’s like they told me before driving the Formula 1 car, it’s very tough on the brakes, it’s impressive how much acceleration it has.
“Then the power, how quick it’s in the entry of the corners. And you can imagine it. But until you drive it, you don’t really realise. You don’t get the feeling of how it is. And it’s amazing. It’s the same on the races. You have to do it to understand some things. And even if they tell you, it’s like, ‘yeah, yeah, I get it’.
“But until I don’t do it, it’s difficult to feel it. And they have been a lot of drivers. They are very nice and helpful. I think it’s a great community in F1. And it’s the best drivers in the world. So it’s just very nice to be here. Looking at it, I think I should make changes to my body as well, probably. You know, I never drove in a carbon seat before.
“It’s really, really stiff. It’s like sitting on a, I don’t know… It’s like, stiff as a wall, you know? And even though they scan your body, It’s suited to your back. It was still not fully moulded, I think, to me in some parts. And we did a really good job with the team now. And it’s fully fixed, luckily. I think it’s going to be much better.
“Always with a little bit of bouncing on a lap you feel it a bit more. But I think it was good. In terms of how I train physically and how I was at for that race, I’m really happy. The neck, that is sometimes the toughest, yeah, it’s normally the toughest part of F1. And it reacted very well. So it means that we did a very good job on the training side. And yeah, the seat looks perfect now. So that’s very good news.”
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