Brazilian GP red-flagged after Colapinto destroys Williams

Franco Colapinto brought the São Paulo Grand Prix to a halt following a horrific smash midway through the race.

It was a wretched end to an abysmal day for Williams after Colapinto and team-mate Alex Albon suffered crashes during a chaotic qualifying session earlier in the day.

The Williams mechanics performed heroics to repair Colapinto’s car and ready him for the race. Unfortunately, Albon’s car was too badly damaged, and he was unable to compete.

With Colapinto running 16th on lap 33 in an astonishing grand prix blighted by horrific conditions at times, the young Argentine was climbing the hill up to the start-finish straight when his car aquaplaned off the track.

As Colapinto spun, his momentum was handed by a sickening smash into a barrier, destroying his car. Coolant could be seen leaking onto the car such was the nature of the impact.

The race was immediately red-flagged. At the time of the stoppage, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon was race leader, followed by Max Verstappen in his Red Bull – up from 17th on the grid – the second Alpine of Pierre Gasly, and then McLaren’s Lando Norris and George Russell in his Mercedes.