Williams rookie Franco Colapinto warmly received the praise he was handed from Red Bull’s Sergio Perez after the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix last weekend.
Colapinto and Perez started 12th and 13th respectively in Singapore and both drivers made their way to ninth and 10th shortly after lights out.
Perez, stuck behind Colapinto until he a pitted on Lap 28, lauded the Argentine’s defensive abilities mid-race over team radio.
“He’s very good, difficult to pass” said the Mexican.
High praise indeed from F1‘s minister of defence, to which Colapinto told media including Motorsport Week: “Checo [Perez] is a super nice guy.
“I grew up watching him racing in F1. Waking up early in Argentina and supporting him as a driver from Mexico, closest to us.
“It was really nice supporting him and it’s even better racing him.”
Perez stopping three laps earlier than Colapinto, who switched Pirelli rubber on Lap 31, settled the duo’s battle.
The Red Bull driver performed the undercut and an early-stopping Carlos Sainz charging through the field resigned Colapinto to 11th at the end of the race.
Perez: Colapinto drove ‘a fantastic race’
After a sterling defensive effort and just missing out on the points, Perez heaped further praise upon Colapinto post-race.
“He did a fantastic race,” the Red Bull driver said of his Williams rival. “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.”
Colapinto looking forward to remaining races
As it stands, Colapinto has just six rounds remaining in F1 before he finds himself back on the sidelines.
Williams has a full driver line-up for 2025 in Alex Albon and Sainz, meaning Colapinto will either have to return to Formula 2 or become a reserve driver.
Unless the Argentine wins out in the battle for the second Sauber seat, the remaining races will be a golden chance to ensure the F1 paddock remembers his talents.
“It’s good to recover [in the Autumn break] and try and keep progressing as a team,” Colapinto added.
“There are still a few things to work on. It’s good to have a bit of a rest.
“The upgrades will be on my car for the next race and will hopefully be really good.”
Colapinto, Williams, Perez and Red Bull return to action in the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas on October 18-20.
READ MORE: Franco Colapinto rues ‘mistakes’ costing him Singapore F1 points
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