Former Formula 1 pilot, Jorion Palmer, praised Williams’ recruitment Franco Colanint, declared that he was no longer surprised by the driver’s first driver, like Lewis Hamilton’s start F1 carrier.
Palmer’s remarks occurred in the first three races of Williams after the impressive result of Colanint. The Argentinian ended the P12, Azerbaijan P8, Singapore P11 in Monza, and shocked the paddock F1.
Palmer, now a prominent F1 commentator, was effusive about Colapinto’s impact, highlighting the rookie’s incredible start and how he deserves a future at the pinnacle of motorsport.
Palmer: “Colapinto deserves a future in F1”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone surprise me with a level of early performance like Colapinto,” Palmer said in his F1 column. “The logic is that this is a way of securing his future in the sport.”
While Hamilton finished P3 on his Australian debut, followed by back-to-back second-place finishes in Malaysia and Bahrain in his extraordinary rookie season in 2007, Palmer suggests Colapinto’s performance stands out more on today’s highly competitive and less forgiving grid.
“He has so far matched his highly regarded Williams team-mate Alex Albon incredibly in terms of single-lap pace, even outpacing him in qualifying in Baku,” Palmer said. “For a rookie, this is a very encouraging sign.”
The former Renault driver added that Colapinto could easily join F1 without any prior testing.
“In modern F1, you would expect a rookie to still be clumsy, especially if he’s a driver who joins mid-season and hasn’t had any tests or pre-season training to get up to speed,” he said. “Grand Prix are long and very dynamic. We have a lot of work to do to get the job done on Sunday.”
Palmer particularly highlighted Colapinto’s performance at the Singapore Grand Prix, with the Williams driver spending much of the race in front of Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez before being overtaken by the Mexican while stopped in the stands. According to Palmer, Colapinto received praise from Sergio Pérez during the race.
“It was brave to push that hard on a difficult track like Singapore and in the longest race on the calendar, but to his credit, he didn’t hit the barriers.”
Although there was still room for improvement in the result, including a costly mistake on the first lap that gave Pérez the lead, Palmer was confident that Colapinto’s strong start would solidify his future in the sport. “There are still some details to learn for the Argentine,” he admitted.
“But overall, I can’t stress enough how impressive these three race starts have been for a driver that nobody expected to see in F1 this year.”
Palmer’s praise comes at a time when many are keeping a close eye on the next generation of drivers entering F1, with Ollie Biermann and Kimi Antonelli due to join the grid in 2025, but it seems that Colapinto, who is already under contract, will also be one for the future.