Franco Colapinto tried to have a neat farewell (at least for now) to Formula 1. He avoided a rough start with the touch between the four-time champion Max Verstappen y Oscar Piastriother frictions that occurred right under his nose, and he aspired to bide his time to finish as high as possible on board the Williams in his ninth race in the highest category of motorsport. However, the Australian hit him from behind in a restart after a virtual safety car and The Argentine could not recover: On lap 29 the British team called him to the pits and he did not come out again..
“Sorry Franco, this is not what we wanted for your last race. We have a problem with the power unit”Williams team boss James Vowles explained to Colapinto over the radio. The Argentine pilot, in a clear display of anger mixed with frustration, did not respond..
“It was a pleasure this year. Thank you”concluded Vowles, who before the race had had a statement full of praise for the 21-year-old Argentine, who replaced Logan Sargeant for the last nine races of the longest season in the history of Formula 1.
“Exceeded my expectations. A 21-year-old man who gets into a Formula 1 with the minimum kilometers and gets points, that’s what he did. A lot of people come to this sport and aren’t there for their first race, Franco did. He was on very difficult circuits like Baku and Singapore. I’m incredibly proud of what he did.“Vowles had said on the starting grid, speaking to ESPN.
“Our responsibility is that Franco can have a seat in 2025 or 2026”closed the head of Williams, a team in which he will at least be a reserve driver next season.