“He’s Hard to Overtake”: Sergio Perez Praises Williams’ Revelation Franco Colapinto

Franco Colapinto is being hailed in the F1 community by his rivals for his performances after replacing Logan Sargeant midseason. While Lewis Hamilton shook hands and praised the Argentine at the Azerbaijan GP, Sergio Perez lauded Colapinto during the Singapore GP and then also further praised the Williams driver after the race.

According to Motorsport-Total.com, Perez said, “I think he drove a fantastic race. He didn’t make a single mistake. It was very difficult to follow him.  It was simply a difficult race. In the end, we managed to undercut Colapinto, but that was the only option we had.”

LAP 16/62

“He’s difficult to pass, Colapinto”

Perez has been trying the pass but there’s no way through ❌ #F1 #SingaporeGP pic.twitter.com/ftuMjGK1Zc

— Formula 1 (@F1) September 22, 2024

Perez was stuck behind Colapinto for the first stint during the Singapore GP. Although the Williams driver struggled with his tires, he yet managed to keep Perez behind him for the entirety of the stint. However, with Perez pitting before Colapinto, he was eventually able to undercut the Argentine.

James Vowles, in a Wall Street Journal interview, revealed how Colapinto wasn’t well known even in the world of motorsport, but ever since he made his Williams debut, he has become a worldwide sensation. Vowles suggested that he was shocked when Colapinto matched Albon’s time at Silverstone.

What does the future for Colapinto hold?

Although Colapinto has been performing phenomenally well, he will unfortunately not get the second seat at Williams, which is already given to Carlos Sainz. With all teams having confirmed their driver line-ups for 2025, Sauber is the only team that has a seat available.

Since Vowles has a good relationship with Colapinto, he revealed that he has been having discussions with Sauber, which will become the Audi works team in 2026, to sign the Argentine. Other than Colapinto, Sauber is also linked with Valtteri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu, Gabriel Bortoleto, and Liam Lawson.