Franco arrived at the Temple of Speed as one of the main contenders for the vice-champion title, with only six points separating the second-placed and the sixth-placed drivers and 39 points up for grabs.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to continue on his strong run of form in Qualifying, as the session was cut short with 10 minutes left on the clock and he only completed 3 laps before the red flag came out, finishing P12. However, it was a blessing in disguise as his position granted him a reverse-grid pole position for Saturday’s race.
He didn’t have the best of getaways at the start of the Sprint Race and dropped back to second behind his teammate before the Safety Car got deployed for the first time. The race resumed in lap 4, and even though the Argentinian nailed the restart, he had to defend the attack coming from behind.
Approaching the halfway mark of the race, Franco managed to chase Boya down and retook the lead with a smooth move at the start-finish straight into Turn 1.
Two laps later the Spanish driver fought back and overtook Franco at the same place but by the time they reached Turn 1 again, the Argentinian driver claimed his position back, storming into the lead and holding onto it until the end of the race.
With his second victory of the season and the fourth of his FIA F3 career, he equals the all-time record for most wins in the championship, joining the likes of Vesti, Hauger and Doohan.
After his triumph on Saturday, he moved up to second place in the championship standings, but his vice-champion title hopes were shattered when he was taken out by another driver in the opening stages of the final race and was forced to retire.
Colapinto wraps up a highly successful season with five podiums, including 2 wins, 14 points finishes out of 18 races, never finishing lower than P13 (his two DNFs and a DSQ in Melbourne were all out of his control) and ended up P4 in the final classification.
Franco Colapinto:
“Not how I wanted to end the season, but there are things in racing we can’t control. It was an unlucky weekend in many ways, but I am glad I could celebrate on the top of the podium once again in Monza. All in all, It’s been a good season with some amazing moments. Big thanks to everyone at MP Motorsport for all their hard work, to Williams Racing and to all my sponsors and partners: Visit Argentina, Marca País Argentina, YPF, ROFGO Racing, PAP, Bell Racing and Bullet Sports Management for all the support.“
Jamie Campbell-Walter, Managing Director, Bullet Sports Management:
“Franco delivered a very good season. Even though the odds weren’t always in his favour, Melbourne was difficult to accept. The end results don’t tell the full story and he would’ve deserved to finish higher but hopefully, he will have several opportunities in the future to prove himself. MP Motorsport provided him with a great package and it’s been very special to enjoy the support of Williams Racing. The season might have ended but the hard work continues as we are already preparing for the next steps and are in need of even more support than ever before.”
