Vowles comes to the support of Colapinto after difficult start at Alpine

When Jack Doohan wasn’t living up to the standards of Flavio Briatore, Colapinto was called in by the team to replace him. The big question is whether the 22-year-old will be allowed to finish the season. He was surprisingly only contracted for six races, so the rest of the season is still a big question mark.

When asked by GPblog in Barcelona whether or not he is surprised to see his former driver struggle so much with Alpine, Vowles compared his situation with the struggles Sainz had after his move from Ferrari: “I think what you see with Carlos coming here is an example. [And he is] a world class driver. It takes time to get up to speed with the car”, he said in Colapinto’s defence.

Vowles then reminded everyone that Colapinto didn’t get much time to prepare - both for his initial stint with Williams and for his current stint with Alpine. “He jumped in halfway through the season, as he did with us as well, and he had some races where he was strong, some races that took a little bit more time.”

All in all, Vowles believes that the young driver should be cut some slack. “I think the ask I have of everyone, whether it’s Franco or others: give him time. It does take time to settle into the car.”