The 2024 Sao Paulo GP was run under treacherous conditions as the heavens opened up last Sunday at the iconic Interlagos circuit. Williams’ Franco Colapinto was one of the drivers who fell victim to the weather as he crashed behind the Safety Car.
While this incident changed the entire complexion of the Grand Prix — leading to a red flag that gave Max Verstappen the perfect opportunity — he has pointed fingers at the FIA for not red-flagging the session sooner.
Motorsport-Total quoted the Argentinian as saying, “I think the track was undriveable, we shouldn’t have driven anymore at that point.” Colapinto went on to add that his crash was owing to the aquaplaning.
“We were a good 15 seconds away from the pace, and we strapped hot intermediates on the car, tried to maintain the temperature and pushed. But then this big stream ran over the track in front of the straight. I then lost the car very aggressively, after that I was only a passenger, very sad,” he concluded.
Franco is out of the car and okay #F1 #BrazilGP pic.twitter.com/y1aMnf2n8e
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 3, 2024
Last Sunday was a bitter day for the Williams squad. Both Colapinto and his teammate, Alex Albon had crashed out during the re-scheduled Qualifying session earlier that day. The damage to Albon’s car meant that he could not even take part in the Grand Prix.
Williams somehow managed to repair Colapinto’s car in time for the race. However, it all unraveled for them with the 21-year-old’s crash on lap 32, leaving them pointless in the Brazil weekend.
Williams had a weekend to forget in Brazil
After Colapinto’s crash, the camera aptly panned to the destitute Williams garage. The extent of damage on his FW46 was apparent on the faces of his mechanics. All in all, including the duo’s qualifying crashes, it was a weekend to forget for the Grove-based team.
They started the Grand Prix on the back foot, after Albon’s DNS. And it got worse for them as the proceedings went further. Not only did Colapinto’s crash mean a double DNF for the team, it also added to an already expensive repair bill for 2024.
Williams have already racked up a repair bill of over $7 million (as of the Mexico City GP). It is only fair to say that once the damage from the Sao Paulo GP weekend is assessed, this figure could be rapidly moving towards double figures.
