Franco Colapinto returns to the FIA F3 podium in Barcelona
Argentinian Williams Racing Driver Academy driver Franco Colapinto claimed second place at the Circuit de Catalunya last weekend. Franco arrived in Barcelona for the second leg of the FIA F3 double-header after a strong result in Monaco, where he just missed out on a podium finish. The Argentinian’s weekend started well by finishing P3 in Friday’s qualifying session, claiming his best result of the season so far.
The reverse grid put him in P10 on Saturday’s Sprint race grid. He made a clean getaway at the start, but the Safety car soon neutralised the race due to an incident on the opening lap. Franco nailed the restart and climbed up to eight after a move on teammate Mari Boya and started to chase after Saucy. With six laps to go, Colapinto executed a stunning move on the Swiss driver into Turn 1, grabbing P7 and was soon up in sixth before the second safety car intervention brought the race to a halt again.
He got a great restart once again but there wasn’t enough time left to catch Aron, and Franco crossed the line in P6, scoring a good haul of points. But it was Sunday morning's Feature race where he could really shine and so he did. He kept it clean at the start and stayed within the DRS range of Barnard, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce.
He then executed a spectacular overtake on the second-placed Brit into Turn 1 and immediately pulled a comfortable gap. Even though he tried to challenge Marti for the lead, the high degradation of the Pirelli tyres on the Barcelona circuit made it impossible in the end, and Franco finished in second place, securing his third podium finish of the season and seventh of his FIA F3 career.
With 23 points added to his tally, Colapinto moved all the way up to 6th in the championship, improving four positions over one round.
Franco Colapinto:
“I am super happy with the weekend. We got good points on Saturday and felt great to be battling in the front and be back on the podium on Sunday, I just didn’t have enough to take the win. The team did a mega job all weekend and we have finally arrived in the championship fight. I'm really grateful for everyone supporting me at Williams, all my sponsors in Argentina, and all the fans out there. They are really pushing for me. I'm going to keep working hard to give them good results.”
Jamie Campbell-Walter, Managing Director, Bullet Sports Management:
“Franco completed an impeccable race weekend. He was fast from the beginning and made no mistakes. In a competitive championship like this, consistency is more important than winning races, and Franco hasn’t finished outside of the Top 6 in the past two rounds. We are proud to watch his progress. MP Motorsport is providing him with the perfect environment to thrive, and with the support of Williams Racing, Franco has the perfect package to achieve great things.”
The FIA F3 championship returns in one month’s time (June 30 – July 2) at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.