F1 fans left incensed by ‘blunder’ that impacted Franco Colapinto’s race at the Mexico City Grand Prix

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Williams Racing driver Franco Colapinto couldn’t secure a third points finish in his brief Formula 1 career at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Franco Colapinto was left frustrated in qualifying after managing to set a faster time than Sergio Perez and Oscar Piastri and still get eliminated in Q1.

The Argentinian started 16th while teammate Alex Albon managed to secure an impressive top-ten grid position.

That ultimately worked against Albon, who got trapped between Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda who ended up in the wall and eliminated the Thai driver in the process.

This meant that the pressure was on Colapinto to score points for Williams with Alpine breathing down their neck in the Constructors’ Championship.

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

Pierre Gasly’s impressive 10th-place finish narrowed the gap in the standings to three points with millions of pounds on the line for whichever team comes out on top after the chequered flag flies in Abu Dhabi.

Williams gambled on a safety car when it came to Colapinto’s strategy, leaving him out for as long as possible.

When he finally changed his tyres, he managed to advance to 12th and came up against RB driver Liam Lawson.

The pair both managed to score points in Austin and went wheel-to-wheel at the Mexico City Grand Prix, before eventually making contact.

The FIA decided to penalise Colapinto, adding ten seconds to his race time and awarded the Argentinian two penalty points.

It’s safe to say that many F1 fans and even Lawson himself didn’t agree with the decision.

Franco Colapinto penalised in Liam Lawson battle during the Mexico City Grand Prix

Speaking about the incident after the race, Lawson said: “Yeah, I mean, honestly, I gave him space in turn two and he carried a lot of speed into [turn] two and more than I was expecting.

“I tried to get out of it but I just caught his rear wheel so, it’s not really his fault or anything like that.

“It’s just a clumsy incident.”

In response to the penalty, many fans weren’t happy with one saying: “Is this logical? If Lawson crashes into him?”

Another said: “The FIA is a disgrace.” while on X the finger being pointed at the FIA didn’t stop: “Shame on the FIA! [They give] Lawson absolutely nothing and he ruined Checo’s race and almost screwed it up for Franco.”

This feeling was shared by plenty of Perez and Colapinto fans, with another suggesting: “Lawson ruined Checo’s race, by going over the hill on Norris so he couldn’t pass, he ruined Max, he ruined Colapinto, I don’t remember what else he did, and the FIA ​​does nothing, they penalize the others and not him, it’s a complete mess what the @fia does.”

Another fan highlighted the apparent inconsistency from the stewards, “FIA’s blunder… there are thousands of racing mistakes… especially in the difficult turn 1. In the end, Checo is right.”

While one fan made a rather comical comment, comparing Lawson to one infamous cartoon character. “Well, the new darling is Lawson, the narrative points to him being Max’s 2nd next year, so he can drive like Dick Dastardly.”

Franco Colapinto unlikely to be racing in F1 in 2025

Colapinto has been fantastic since his debut at the Italian Grand Prix but knew when he took Logan Sargeant’s seat he was only a short-term solution.

A deal between Williams and RB for Colapinto seems unlikely at this stage, but Red Bull’s desperation to bring in another driver might come down to Sergio Perez’s form.

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

The other available seat on the grid in 2025 is at Sauber.

However, they appear to be no closer to hiring a second driver with Valtteri Bottas and Gabriel Bortoleto both in contention.

All Colapinto can do is continue to get as close to Albon as possible and stay out of any further trouble with the stewards.