Franco Colapinto’s first time attacking the Baku City Circuit — as a driver at any level, let alone Formula 1 — got off to a rocky start.
While we still do not know how his Azerbaijan Grand Prix will end, his qualifying Saturday at the Baku City Circuit was something special.
The rookie Williams driver stormed into Q3, and at moments earlier in the session posted times that had his name atop the sheets with the likes of Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, and other more experienced drivers. He ultimately qualified ninth, an achievement he described as an “amazing feeling” in his post-session comments.
To achieve Q3 in only my second Qualifying session in F1 is an amazing feeling for me and the team,” said Colapinto in the team’s post-qualifying report. “I was not expecting to go into Q3 as I was just going session by session building up throughout. The car has been on point so far this weekend and I’ve been getting more comfortable with the car and learning a new track.
“I think we maximized almost every run we did today. We had a difficult start yesterday, but we’ve done a great job to turn it around. It was important to build my confidence up after the crash in FP1 especially at a street track,” added the young driver. “My mistake in FP1 meant I couldn’t do a long run which could hurt me tomorrow, but I think we can do our prep tonight and understand where I can improve. I’m proud of what we’re already achieving together as this is only the start with plenty of races left. Let’s see what we can do tomorrow.”
That joy extended to the other side of Williams’ garage. For the first time all season the team saw both drivers advance to Q3, as veteran Alexander Albon joined Colapinto in Q3. However, that joy was muted for Albon, as an attempt to get him on the track quickly for his final push lap saw him leave the team’s stall with an air box still attached, forcing him to pull to the side and wrestle the device off his FW46:
The delay cost Albon a shot at his final push lap, and he will start tenth.
“We’ve had three Q3’s in a row now which is a positive, and getting both cars through to Q3 is good. The car is performing well and the upgrade is working. Funnily enough, I’m actually not that happy with the car this weekend but that’s a positive sign as it shows there’s even more to come and we are still good on race pace,” said Albon. “With the issue with the fan in Q3, these things happen. Nobody did it on purpose and the team will review what happened, but realistically I was only going to gain one, maybe two positions if everything went perfectly and we can still fight from the top ten tomorrow.”
Even with the miscue — which may see the team fined for an unsafe release — Williams is in a good position to fight for points on Sunday.
“Nevertheless, the team and the drivers can look back on a solid Qualifying and both are in a good position to fight for points tomorrow,” said Sporting Director Sven Smeets.
