Colapinto reflects on ‘rookie’ error in Baku crash

Franco Colapinto has stated his clash with the wall during practice in Azerbaijan was a “rookie” mistake.

The Argentine lost control of his car through Turn 4 at of the Baku City Circuit, resulting in a collision with the barrier that ruled him out of the rest of the session.

Colapinto was able to return to the cockpit for FP2 after repairs were carried out on his car, and he ended the session in 14th place.

Reflecting on the incident, Colapinto said: “I had never crashed into a wall like that, it was a slow crash. 

“It was an experience. I didn’t know the track and everything was very new. 

“It was a rookie mistake in Baku. Taking that apart, it was a very good second session. The heroes of the day are the mechanics, they have done an amazing job.

“The amount of work they had to do, they were pushing, pushing, pushing and they put the car out in FP2. I was really impressed about it.”

The incident came in just Colapinto’s second race weekend after being called up to replace Logan Sargeant at Williams.

Colapinto stated the mistake was smaller than his error at Monza two weeks ago – but more costly with the walls much closer.

“It was a small mistake, which here costs you a lot,” he added. “It was even smaller than the Q1 mistake at Monza but just with a much bigger impact.”