In the round-up: James Vowles says Franco Colapinto “validated” Williams decision to pick him over other drivers
In brief
Colapinto’s Monza drive “validated” choice
Williams team principal James Vowles believes Franco Colapinto’s solid performance in his grand prix debut last weekend in Monza proved the team were right to pick their junior driver over a more experienced alternative.
“Clearly the decision making is ‘do we use drivers that definitely had more experience than Franco does, that will come with their own positives, or do we invest in an academy that we’re putting not hundreds of thousands, but millions [of pounds] into because we believe in the future of the Academy and of Williams?’,” said Vowles in a video posted by Williams.
“The answer became very simply: let’s invest in Franco, let’s invest in the future of those that are giving us everything, that are coming up to the factory to make sure they’re helping us develop these cars. And within that simulation environment, they’re in a strong performance position. Let’s keep investing in that direction.
“I think the reward is what you saw in Monza. You can trust future generations of drivers. You can invest in them and get rewards on the back end of it. Franco is just at the beginning of that journey. He’s got a lot more room to grow into. He’s got a lot more performance to come. I think we’ve been validated by that decision.”
Leclerc eager to race Le Mans
Charles Leclerc says he hopes to race in the Le Mans 24 Hours in the future.
“I’m really interested in doing Le Mans one day,” Leclerc said. “The Indianapolis [500] is not something that I’ve been particularly looking at – however, maybe one day.
“But Le Mans is definitely one of those races that I would like to compete in one day. I don’t know when, but hopefully soon.”
Camara overcomes jump start penalty to win
Ferrari junior driver Rafael Camara shrugged off a five second penalty for a jump start to still claim victory in the first Formula Regional European Championship race of the weekend in Monza.
Pole winner Camara held the lead at the start as fellow current Ferrari junior driver Tuuka Taponen and former Ferrari junior James Wharton moved up into second and third, respectively. Camara was then hit with a five second penalty for jumping the start, putting his win in jeopardy, but he sprinted away after a Safety Car restart to win by 8.2 seconds from Taponen, to hold onto…
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