Sergio Perez had nothing but praise for Williams rookie Franco Colapinto after last weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, noting how the young gun “didn’t put a foot wrong” during the pair’s battle for position in the first part of the race.
The race saw Colapinto make an assertive move at the start into Turn 1, catapulting him from twelfth to ninth.
From there, the rookie showed remarkable composure, holding off the more experienced Perez and frustrating the Red Bull driver’s attempts to overtake for almost 30 laps.
Over the radio, Perez acknowledged Colapinto’s skill, saying, "He's very good, difficult to pass," as the two Latin American drivers fought nose to tail, with Perez unable to find a way around the Williams charger.
Ultimately, Perez seized an opportunity to undercut his young rival during the pit stop phase on lap 28. Although Williams responded quickly by bringing Colapinto in the following lap, it wasn’t enough to hold position, and Perez emerged ahead
However, the Argentine driver remained close, trailing Perez by just 1.6 seconds at the checkered flag.
"He did a fantastic race," an impressed Perez commented at the end of the day.
"He didn’t put a foot wrong. It was very difficult to keep up with him at the time and it was just a difficult race.
"In the end we managed to do the undercut on him, but that was the only one we could do."
©RedBull
For Colapinto, Perez’s praise was particularly special. Growing up in Argentina, he had supported the Mexican as one of the few Latin American drivers on the F1 grid.
Now, racing wheel-to-wheel with his childhood hero, Colapinto expressed his gratitude while reflecting on the challenges of the race.
"I was trying to push. Checo is a super nice guy and I grew up watching him racing in F1, waking up early in Argentina, and supporting him as a guy from Mexico, this was the closest to us,” he recounted.
"It was very nice to support him when I was little. And now it's even better to be racing against him.”
©RedBull
Despite the commendation from Perez, Colapinto was disappointed not to have finished in the points. The rookie attributed the shortfall to strategic missteps, particularly staying too long on the medium tyres, which left him vulnerable to Perez’s undercut.
"It's a pity to not have finished with points after a good effort. But yeah, it is what it is. Also decent race, but we made some mistakes that didn't let us finish in the points;” he said.
"When you do everything perfect...we were not perfect today, and I think that's why we are not in the points."
While the result may have been bittersweet for Colapinto, his performance in Singapore did not go unnoticed, and with Perez’s endorsement, the rookie has further cemented his place as a promising talent in Formula 1.
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