James Vowles marvels at ‘incredible’ Franco Colapinto feat against Lewis Hamilton at Sao Paulo Grand Prix

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Franco Colapinto continued his impressive displays in Formula 1 in the second Sprint race of his career at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

The Argentine has not finished below 12th since he got behind the wheel at Williams at the Italian Grand Prix. In his first five races, Colapinto has scored five points with a best finish of eighth in Baku.

Colapinto’s arrival in F1 has thrown his teammate Alex Albon into some discomfort, with the Thai driver retiring from two of the last three races. Having been beaten by the 21-year-old in the last three races, Albon is under pressure from Colapinto to perform in the Williams.

In the Sprint race at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, McLaren executed the perfect race as Lando Norris took victory from Oscar Piastri for a one-two. The Aussie let the Brit through to take the win and close the gap to title rival Max Verstappen.

Colapinto got his car into SQ2 and qualified 14th. In the race, the Argentine continued his impressive streak and came home to finish 12th.

James Vowles says the world has seen how ‘exceptional’ Franco Colapinto is after battle with Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton had a tough time in qualifying as he could not get his Mercedes into SQ3 and lined up 11th for the Sprint race.

Hamilton had a shocker of a start and lost three places at the start, one of those being to Colapinto. The Argentine battled with the seven-time world champion until the latter stages of the race when the Brit eventually got through and finished 11th.

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

Speaking on Sky Sports F1 ahead of qualifying for Sunday’s race, Williams boss James Vowles lauded Colapinto’s effort in just another example of how ‘incredible’ he has been.

“When we signed Franco up, it was on the basis that he was incredibly talented, and it’s a typical thing that teams will put drivers like that onto a reasonably long contract,” he said.

“What I said in the press conference, I’ll say about now. We’re fortunate Franco has done an incredible job.

“He did another incredible job in the race today. Defending against Lewis, which is one of the hardest out there. And from that perspective, I think the world can see, and it’s a great reward for him, that he’s exceptional and they want to have, really some opportunity to work with him.”

Franco Colapinto is a potential target for Red Bull in 2025

With his performances, Colapinto is attracting interest from several teams up and down the paddock. Williams will not have a seat available for him until at least 2027, as they will have Albon and Carlos Sainz in their line-up.

Colapinto has been heavily linked with the second seat at Sauber and may potentially head to the Swiss outfit on loan to continue his development in F1.

Red Bull have also emerged as a possible option for Colapinto as they assess what to do with struggling Sergio Perez. While nothing is confirmed as of yet, David Croft understands there will be something for Colapinto in 2025.

Hamilton has advised Colapinto to ‘make sure’ about his options for 2025, and judging by the number of teams who seem to be interested in him, the 21-year-old will be faced with a headache trying to decide his new move.