Franco Colapinto delivered yet another impressive performance at the United States Grand Prix last weekend as he finished in P10 and scored a valuable point for Williams. However, he could also have added one more point for the fastest lap of the race.
But that point was taken away from him by the Alpine of Esteban Ocon. The Frenchman pitted in the closing stages of the race for a fresh set of Soft tires and set the fastest lap (1:37.330) of the race on lap 53.
During the post-race interviews in the media pen, Colapinto jokingly took a jab at Ocon as he suggested that Formula 1 should be looking to save the planet by not letting the drivers use tires unnecessarily. The interaction was shared on Instagram by @f1gossippofficial where Colapinto was heard saying,
“The fastest lap was done by the French. Why do they change the tires, bro? We need to save the planet.”
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Interestingly, at that very moment, Ocon had just passed by the Argentine driver, and the comment made him turn his head. Despite missing out on the extra point, Colapinto once again proved that he absolutely deserves a spot on the Formula 1 grid.
Colapinto is aiming for the final seat for 2025 with Sauber
While Colapinto’s performance was impressive on its own, it becomes even more significant when it is compared to his much more experienced Williams teammate Alex Albon. The Thai driver only managed to finish the race in P16 and was a lap down on the leaders.
Colapinto has scored points in two of the four races since making his debut during the Italian Grand Prix weekend. What’s encouraging is that he isn’t too far behind Albon in terms of points, who has scored eight in the same number of races compared to the five points scored by the Argentine.
: Sauber’s struggles continue after a pointless US GP, with their 2025 driver lineup still undecided. Gabriel Bortoleto remains in contention for a seat, despite Franco Colapinto’s impressive debut with Williams. Sauber is balancing the potential of youth against the experience… pic.twitter.com/nryG2fEcnV
— F1 Naija (@f1_naija) October 22, 2024
Colapinto’s impressive performances have put him in the shopping window for the only remaining seat for the 2025 season at Sauber (soon to become Audi’s works team) as Williams have already confirmed the pairing of Albon and Carlos Sainz. However, Colapinto is competing with the likes of Valtteri Bottas, Gabriel Bortoleto, Mick Schumacher, and Theo Pourchaire for the Sauber seat.
