Alexander Albon had outside hope to score for Williams in F1 Abu Dhabi GP but it went down the bin, as Franco Colapinto wanted to finish the race at least.
It wasn’t the end that Colapinto wanted with Williams for now in his last F1 outing in Abu Dhabi GP. Having had a decent start, the Argentine had a rough run in the last few rounds. And so, he wanted to finish the grand prix at least to end his current stint on a better note.
He doesn’t have a contract for 2025 as of now. At most, he will be the reserve at Williams and undertake testing run as much as possible. The Abu Dhabi GP started out decently for Colapinto but he was hit by Oscar Piastri on the re-start, which damaged his car and diffuser.
He also had a puncture and tried to see-through the race until he was asked to retire the car. He wanted to end his F1 stint like he had started out, but it wasn’t to be. “I got a good start, was just trying to do laps and complete the race,” said Colapinto to media. “I wanted to finish to show the pace we had in the car, I knew that we were quick.
“After the VSC, I tried to get through Turn 6 and Piastri hit me from behind really hard. It damaged the car, the diffuser, a puncture as well. It just hasn’t been….the last couple of races I wanted…really unlucky. I don’t think I could have done anything different, and then engine issue to finish the race. It just hasn’t been the end of the season I wanted, but it is part of it, part of Formula 1.
“It still was my dream come true, also some racing experience. I would have liked it much more if I would have ended just like I started, but it is part of Formula 1,” summed up Colapinto, as teammate Albon ran in the Top 10 for the brief period until he was overtaken by faster cars.
He lost temperature in his tyres in cooler conditions which hurt his pace. There was an outside chance to end on a good note as a relief to Williams, but it wasn’t to be. “I thought maybe 10 laps to go, still I dreamed,” said Williams. “Actually the grip of the tyre stayed strong, it was the temperature that dropped away, especially when the track starts to cool down.
“I couldn’t drive quick enough to keep the temperatures in the tyres. It was for me, it was qualifying laps from Lap 25 to pretty much all of the race. It made it very physical, it was a shame obviously to not reward the team a points finish,” summed up Albon.
Here’s Oscar Piastri on hitting Franco Colapinto
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