Damon Hill sends message to Williams star Franco Colapinto after Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying

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The Azerbaijan Grand Prix appears to be the best opportunity for Williams to secure a double-point finish since last season’s United States Grand Prix.

Since that performance in Austin, Williams have made the call to replace Logan Sargeant with Franco Colapinto.

Colapinto was promoted from the Williams Formula 2 program ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix and did a fine job on his debut in Monza.

He didn’t score points in Italy but made plenty of progress throughout the race to finish within a close margin to his teammate Alex Albon.

However, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix highlighted Colapinto’s potential perfectly, even if he had one frustrating moment in practice.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Williams Racing from team principal to Mercedes relationship

Colapinto crashed in FP1, but Charles Leclerc – who starts on pole position – and Oliver Bearman also had incidents before qualifying.

Damon Hill – who won a Formula 1 world championship with Williams in 1996 – watched on as both Williams drivers qualified in the top 10 and reacted on Instagram.

Albon’s chances of setting a perfect final lap were ruined when the team bizarrely left the fan attached to his car as he exited the pit lane and Colapinto took advantage to start ahead of his teammate.

Damon Hill reacts to Franco Colapinto’s performance in Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying

Initially, Hill was impressed with how both drivers fared on the streets of Baku and said: “Bloody good effort everyone!”.

READ MORE: Williams driver Alex Albon’s life outside F1 from net worth, girlfriend to parents

Hill then followed this up by talking specifically about Colapinto on Instagram and said: “Fine performance.”

Speaking about his performances in qualifying to the media, Colapinto said: “I am very excited, it’s an amazing moment, my first Q3, and I am very happy about it, to be honest.

“It’s a moment every driver dreams of, and I achieved it in my second weekend in F1 so I can’t be any more happy.

“It was a very good session. I think we put the laps in, every time I had to go out, we did a very good job as a team.

“Of course, I would have been good to finish in front of the Aston [of Alonso], maybe, but we did a little step on the setup to see what we can do.

“It didn’t really work out, the rears didn’t stay alive for the whole lap. But I think the team did an amazing job to put the two cars in Q3.

“It’s a very important moment for Williams. It’s, for me, a dream come true after yesterday’s contact with the wall it was going to be tough, but I think we did [a] very good comeback.”

Karun Chandhok using Franco Colapinto to pursue 2025 F1 seat

Colapinto knew before he stepped up into Sargeant’s seat that it wouldn’t lead to a permanent role with the team next year.

Williams had already confirmed that Carlos Sainz would be arriving from Ferrari after he lost his place to Lewis Hamilton.

There are just two seats left to fill on the grid for 2025, with Sauber and RB yet to confirm their final line-ups.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Williams driver Franco Colapinto with praise to stats

RB will promote from within and may have already made their decision between Liam Lawson and Daniel Ricciardo.

It means Sauber is Colapinto’s only hope of staying on the grid next year and he faces competition from the likes of Valtteri Bottas and Gabriel Bortoleto for the role.

Karun Chandhok has told Colapinto he has to aim for the second Sauber seat next year and his fine performance in qualifying wouldn’t have done his chances any harm.

Bearman earned his seat at Haas next year by impressing during his cameo in Saudi Arabia earlier in the year and the young Argentine will be hoping to do the same between now and the end of the campaign.