IN HIS WORDS: Franco's first F2 win

Taking a first win in a season is a memorable moment for any driver, but Franco Colapinto's Saturday Sprint Race triumph was extra special.

Our Williams Racing Driver Academy star's win was the first in Formula 2, with the championship running a new chassis in 2024, and came at an already important circuit for Franco.

We caught up with our Argentine ace after his incredible Imola to hear his take on his maiden F2 victory.

"Imola is such a special place for me," begins Franco before recalling, "I had my first Formula 3 win there in 2022, but that was different because I already got pole in Bahrain that year."

"This first Formula 2 win means even more to me."

A chaotic start to the race had five cars crashing out behind Franco, but he only had his eyes forward from his P3 placement.

"After the safety car, I got into second place, and there was [Paul] Aron ahead of me.

"It didn't look like he was as quick as me, so it was about getting to within DRS range.

"To get past, I knew I needed to make a move into Turn 1, but I couldn't get close enough.

"I was extracting all of the juice from the tyres across the race, and then, on the second-to-last lap, I squeezed the last juice out to be as close as possible."

That intelligent tyre conservation worked wonders, and Franco had his MP Motorsport car around the outside at Tamburello to take the lead on the 25th and final lap of the race.

It's the culmination of hard work from the driver and team during a quiet time in F2 since the previous race in Melbourne.

"I think now we are starting to show how quick the car is.

"From the Barcelona test, we made improvements, but I would only say they were half improvements because you need to make them in a race.

"We did that in Imola, across all three days there."

Williams Racing team members were there under the podium to watch the champagne celebrations.

However, Franco explained that the backing from Williams Racing isn't just on race weekends after a recent trip to Grove.

"Every time I go to the factory, I see the cars there... the history, and the drivers... it is something special.

"It was my dream since I was a boy to be a part of a Formula 1 team. I wanted to be a racing driver as a dream, of course, but to also be part of a team.

"Everyone at Williams is just so, so, so supportive. They support me always."

Franco will be back in the cockpit eager to add more wins to his 2024 campaign alongside fellow Williams Racing Driver Academy members Zak O'Sullivan and Luke Browning from Thursday as F2 and F3 support the Monaco Grand Prix.