*The overtaking of Colapinto over Bottas
Franco Colapinto finished 14th in the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix after starting last and from the pits with his Williams FW 46. After the hard accident on Saturday in qualifying, the titanic work of the English team’s mechanics worked non-stop to repair the car and the medical permission that the Argentine driver received for his shock at 50 Gwas able to take part in the race on the street circuit in said Nevada city.
The 21-year-old young man from Buenos Aires started with hard tires and remained last until the fifth lap in which Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) went to the pits and Franco gained a position. He later sought to surpass Valtteri Bottas (Sauber) and when he tried to overtake, he went too far in the first corner.
He then benefited from other stops in the pits and finished eighth, but also lost to Max Verstappen (Red Bull), Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) and Lando Norris (McLaren), who had changed tires and had fresh rubber.
Franco completed his stoppage on the 17th lap and they put medium tires on him. He returned to the track in 19th place. But the degradation of the tires was such that eleven laps later he went back into the pits and they put another set of hard tires on him.
Colapinto had a neat race and knew how to take care of himself on the track without getting into unnecessary friction and in the final stretch of the competition he placed 15th. Although he was able to advance two other places after surpassing Guanyu Zhou (Sauber) y a Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls). Before the end, the Chinese accounted for the Argentine who finished 14th.
After the competition, Colapinto spoke to the press and analyzed how complicated the weekend was in the Sin City. “It was tough because yesterday I had good pace and I could have entered Q3. It was a shame because again with a lot of damage (to the car). With a weekend that turned around in the classification. I went very to the limit between the walls. I feel very angry”.
“After the accident I was kind of stupid and didn’t know what was happening. Luckily they gave me permission to run. They told me he was with a concussion and they sent me to the hotel,” he revealed.
“In the race it was difficult for me to settle the tires in the first part. They asked me to be aggressive with Magnussen, but today I did what I could. I wanted to give the mechanics something to celebrate but hey, we’ll do it in Qatar. We have to make a statue of these kids,” Colapinto added.
For the fifth race in a row, Pilar surpassed his teammate, Alex Albonwho added his third abandonment in the last five dates. It should be remembered that in San Pablo, the Thai did not start because he had destroyed his car in qualifying.
Beyond the final result, the important thing for Franco is that he once again knew how to recover from adversity and another crash, since in Brazil he abandoned due to a collision in the race. This weekend was key to being able to advance in the negotiations for his future. It is worth remembering that Williams will have its own drivers as its main drivers in 2025 Albon y Carlos Sainzcoming from Ferrari. The arrangements to continue are carried out by the head of the English team himself, James Vowles and the main chance is in Red Bull and it also sounds Alpine on the horizon.
This Sunday, Max Verstappen became world champion for the fourth time in a row after finishing in 5th place and being ahead of Lando Norriswho was sixth with his McLaren. The victory belonged to George Russellwho led the 1-2 of Mercedes. The podium was completed Carlos Sainz (Ferrari).
Franco and the rest of the drivers will not have a rest since next weekend the Qatar Grand Prix in it Lusail Circuit. It will be the penultimate date of the season and the closing will also take place in the Middle East since it will close in Abu Dhabia circuit known to the Argentine since there he got into an F1 car for the first time, on November 28, 2023. That day he began to write his history in the Máxima.
