Colapinto was brought in by Williams to score points, so will he?

Ahead of the Italian Grand Prix Williams replaced struggling Logan Sargeant in its quest to score points with both cars. So how realistic is it to expect points from his replacement Franco Colapinto?

While the decision to relieve Sargeant from his duties did not come as a surprise, the sudden timing of it and the choice for inexperienced rookie Colapinto, just when Williams needs someone who can immediately come in and deliver, was subject to plenty of day one criticism.

But in his first grand prix weekend Colapinto gave a good account of himself. He did put one foot wrong in qualifying by going off on his final Q1 lap, which likely cost him a Q2 slot, but the Argentine then went on to deliver a mature race that saw him move up from 18th on the grid to 12th at the chequered flag.

It was some vindication for Williams’ bold choice to back its own youth programme rather than bringing in a more experienced option. But as Williams slowly starts to wheel out more upgrades, which team-mate Alex Albon used to good effect to finish ninth in Monza, the pressure will soon be on Colapinto to do the same.

So, how realistic it is to start expecting points from his new driver? Vowles admitted the upcoming double-header featuring Baku and especially the challenging Singapore, tracks that the 21-year-old has never visited, will be a tough test. But he hopes the thousands of hours spent in the team’s simulator will pay off.

“I would still say that [there’s] every reason to be encouraged at how he’s going to perform in Baku and Singapore and all the remaining tracks,” Vowles told Motorsport.com. “Because one of the things he’s very strong at, is translating that theoretical world into the real world.

“It’s based on what he did in Silverstone [free practice] and what he’s doing in the simulator, which sometimes doesn’t always correlate, but with him there was good evidence to suggest as much.”

“I think, he’ll be absolutely fine, based on what I’ve seen. But it’s not just Baku. I think Singapore is more of a challenge than Baku. In Singapore, there’s very little resting time between the corners and a lot more overheating.

“Irrespective, I think you’re going to find every track is a challenge…