“If one day you want to be a Formula 1 driver, then you must start behaving like one”. That was the message he received Franco Colapinto at 15 years old by Maria Catarineu y Jamie Campbell-Walterthe two people who build and develop everything around the talent of the Argentine pilot.
The Spanish and the Scottish are responsible for Bullet Sports Managementa company that represents pilots and that has found its Holy Grail in Colapinto. “Life has changed radically for all of us,” Catarineu acknowledged since the Argentine driver was announced for the team. Williamsat the end of last August.
In chat with Clarionwithin the framework of the Mexico City Grand Prix, the Spanish detailed part of the work they do with their team to support Colapinto in not so positive situations, such as classification in the Mexican event, for example.
“Fanco has a person who helps him in the mental part. We have an established process of how to process with the information, what he feels, how to reverse it, how he is ready for the next thing. And he recovers quite quickly and has to go for its process why has it happened. But immediately his mental chip completely changes and he is ready,” he said.
This methodology did not begin since the Argentine entered Formula 1 nor is it much less than new. Since they have worked together, they have been applying a work system with the focus on being a pilot in the world’s highest category.
Executing those schemes prevented Williams’ announcement from causing as much impact within his team. Catarineu acknowledged that it ended up being more or less the same: “The work methodology, for example Monza, which was the first race that could have been like the shock older, we realized almost the first day, that it was basically the same. In the end we get up in a hotel, we have breakfast, we have our talk with him. What changed was the environment.”
-Unclear. It is not the same to meet Formula 2 drivers at breakfast than to meet Carlos Sainz. So it’s a little more shocking. But the methodology did not change. We have breakfast, we go to a meeting with engineers, we chat for a while with Franco, then food, and then I don’t know how much. Everything is the same as how we have been doing it. We were ready. Jaime, almost from the beginning, at the time of Formula 4, told him: Do you want to be a Formula 1 driver? Well, let’s behave now, at 15 years old, as a Formula 1 driver.
-That you behave like a professional with your work group of engineers, with communication people. The few interviews he did throughout his history. And today all that is the same. The only thing you have to adapt to is the shock what to be in this paddock. That is, you were nobody yesterday and suddenly now everyone treats you differently.
-And how do you get along with that?
-This is what he had been waiting for for so many years. I think that perhaps the fact of being at the best in F2 or F3 gave him more pressure and saying I don’t know if I’m going to fulfill my dream of reaching F1. He is clearly where he has always wanted to be and now he is giving his best.
-Did you expect him to behave the way he is?
-I expected this from Franco, but I am still pleasantly surprised and very grateful for the effort he is putting in at the end. For him it is also the head of a 21-year-old child. Franco has always shown himself to be much more mature than he is, but he is a 21-year-old head. Every day I admire him more, honestly.
-How do you handle the uncertainty of what will happen next year and all the rumors that constantly arise?
-We live from day to day. Today we are at Williams, we have a contract with William. We are happy here. Franco is not blind and sees social networks and everything. But he knows that today he has to do the best job possible in the team he is in, which is Williams, and then we’ll see. Many times I ask him how all this is affecting him and he, as he is, says I don’t care. And he goes back to his worksheet, with today’s race predictions, yesterday’s data.
-Is it positive that so many rumors arise? Let it be on everyone’s lips?
-In the end you can’t stop something like that. People talk, talk and talk. They ask us about 40 times a day, both Jaime and I, including him, about 2025. And the reality is that there is no news. We are in Williams and when there is news to give, we will give it. But now we’re at Williams. We are good here.
-What do you think of what Franco’s present has generated in Argentina?
-I remember that the first time we noticed this a little was with Franco’s pole position in F3, in Bahrain. There Franco told me: ““I think I’m so famous”. It only brings us joy. I mean, please, don’t let the Argentinians stop because it gives him a lot of strength. Yesterday I saw a post on the networks that it is Franco’s car and then a lot of Argentines pushing behind it. Spectacular!
-How is this transferred to the paddock?
-I don’t see him much in him paddock what is happening with other pilots. I think I could say that in the end Franco has the most support from his country of all the drivers in Formula 1 and that gives him a lot of strength. We are already looking forward to Brazil. We are super grateful.
-Do they work on that too?
-Franco is who he is. Everything you see is real, there is nothing figurative and he is a child with tremendous humility who, with a lot of work, has gotten to where he is. We would like this inspiration that is happening in young people in Argentina and around the world to know that with effort and work you can achieve whatever you want. We have been doing it for 7 years. We have had bad moments where we have not fallen. But we got back up, we laughed and we cried. I think people feel very identified, especially young people.
-Whose idea was the tribute to Carlos Reutemann with the helmet design?
-From Franco. In Formula 1, almost the only thing that the driver can define is the helmet design. Everything else is provided by the team. So we talked to him about whether he wanted to include different designs and he was the one who said that he wanted to release this helmet for these races, which are the races closest to his country. And look at the reception it has had.
-Are there new designs coming after Brazil?
-A design bombshell! Yes, something new is coming, but I’m not going to tell you anything now, because it’s a bomb. A bomb.