Williams F1: Colapinto Upbeat, Albon Retirement Woes

Williams F1 sees mixed fortunes: Colapinto optimistic despite narrowly missing top ten, Albon dismayed by premature retirement.

Franco Colapinto narrowly missed scoring points at the Singapore Grand Prix, with the Williams F1 driver feeling somewhat frustrated. Having qualified 12th, he made a strong start to move up to ninth, but his strategy proved less than ideal.

“It’s disappointing not to have finished in the top 10 after being there at the start of the race,” Colapinto stated. “I believe it was possible to stay in the points and keep [Checo] Pérez behind, given the track’s difficulty for overtaking.”

“However, we didn’t defend as well as we could have and by stopping a lap too late, we lost a position. That’s how it goes; we win and lose together as a team.”

“The tyre management was good throughout the race, but I did struggle a bit physically, which was a limiting factor. Overall, 11th place is a solid result, and it was a very positive race that helped me build on what I’ve learned so far.”

Alex Albon initially complained of being impeded by Colapinto, but his race was ultimately thwarted by a mechanical failure and retirement: “It’s unfortunate to end today as we did when I think we had a car that could have scored points this weekend.”

“In the end, an engine cooling issue ended our race, but after a challenging start where we were forced to run wide, it would have been difficult to recover from there. Sometimes, you have a car that isn’t capable of scoring points, so when you do, it’s very satisfying.”

“But this weekend was the opposite; we had a very quick car and should have been in the points, so it’s frustrating. We’re going to review everything and see how we can improve for the upcoming races.”