Williams Formula 1 team boss James Vowles says he was impressed with how the team's rookie driver Franco Colapinto managed a mid-season debut in Italy.
Williams academy driver Colapinto was promoted to a race seat at the expense of Logan Sargeant in between a busy double-header of Zandvoort and Monza, making his debut at the Italian Grand Prix on the back of just a single free practice session in the 2024 car.
It was sink or swim for the 21-year-old Argentine, who was handed the seat for the nine remaining races of the 2024 season before handing it to statement signing Carlos Sainz.
But swim he did, and after a mistake in qualifying left him 18th on the grid, the F2 graduate turned a faultless race to come home 12th, having been close to team-mate Alex Albon's pace for the majority of the race.
"To finish within a few seconds of Alex, of which the delta was all made in the first stint, when he qualified out of position, is a good result," Vowles told Autosport.
"He procedurally got everything correct that he needed to; at the start he didn't lose position, he did a good job at the pitstop.
"Up to his mistake in qualifying he was about within a tenth of Alex. That's the only mistake that anyone can put on him, and without that, I think he could have been fighting for a point on his first outing. So I'm very, very happy with everything that he's done and how he's built up into it."
Having copped criticism for entrusting a total rookie to step in and help Williams' chase for points, Vowles said he was pleased to see the calm and collected manner Colapinto dealt with the huge challenge thrown his way.
"Part of the reason why he's in the car is his ability to cope with immense amounts of pressure," he said. "You still [need to] have natural ability to drive quickly, but he's not really flappable.
"We loaded him up with more information than a human being can take, and if you ask him now, he'll say that was definitely too much. But it didn't cause him to go into any other state than 'this is how I do things, and this is how I perform the best', and that's part of the reason why he's in the car."
Vowles admitted that Colapinto's lack of experience was a factor counting against him, but felt he had seen enough from the 21-year-old's endless simulator runs and his mature Silverstone F1 outing to put his faith in him.
"What I drove back to is this: he's faster than people realise," he explained. "You need to see it for yourself. It's based on what he did in Silverstone and what he's doing in the simulator, which sometimes doesn't always correlate, but there was good evidence to suggest as much.
"I believe in investing in [youth]. I was a graduate once and someone invested in me. And if you invest in the right individuals who have the right backing, you'll be surprised what you can get back from them."
Asked how realistic it is to start expecting points from his new driver, he replied: "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. I think he could have scored points if qualifying had gone well.
"A little bit is on us. We have to improve the car at the right rate, and there are more updates coming that will help us push more concretely into that point-scoring region.
"When the package is on the car, his chances become all the remaining races. But answering the question more formally, in Baku he still has a chance, but he has to be absolutely perfect that weekend, and I think it's too high an expectation to put on his shoulders."
