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Williams F1 driver Franco Colapinto claimed that he was left gushing after 'shaking hands' with Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton at the end of the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sunday, September 15. The Argentine impressed everyone with his performance on a tricky track like Baku as he started the race in P9 ahead of his Williams teammate Alex Albon and finished in P8 behind the Thai driver.
The 21-year-old drove a measured race throughout and never looked out of sorts throughout the weekend despite racing at the Baku City Circuit for the very first time in his career. He managed to hold off the late charge from seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton at the end of the lap and finished ahead of him.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the race, Hamilton was complimentary of fellow Brit Oliver Bearman, who also finished in the points, and Franco Colapinto. However, he had some trouble remembering the latter's name, saying:
"All I can is it's really great to see talented young guys coming through and driving so well. Oliver did a great job, racing against him... it was tough but fair. And yeah... I don't remember that kid's name... for Williams... Colapinto! He did a great job today as well."
Hamilton was even captured shaking hands with Franco Colapinto at the end of the race, which the Williams F1 driver shared on his social media account and called the 'best moment of his day', saying:
"My best moment of the day... what madness and what a dream come true to shake hands with @lewishamilton after a race together, wow."
Unlike the Argentine, the Mercedes driver had a nightmare weekend as he finished P9 from the pitlane.
Lewis Hamilton reflects on his 'difficult' Azerbaijan GP
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton stated that it was a 'difficult' race on Sunday at the Baku City Circuit as he struggled to make progress after starting from the pitlane due to taking a new engine.
Speaking with F1.com, the 39-year-old said:
"Today was a difficult race. We had a good day on Friday, but the rest of the weekend was tough. We made some changes heading into Saturday that didn’t work out, but we had to live with them. We also knew it would be challenging to overtake today.
"Despite the long straight, it is hard to follow through the second sector. Franco Colapinto and Oliver Bearman, who I was racing for a lot of the afternoon, did such a great job. It is great to see the youngsters like them coming through and doing so well. For their first and second races, it was very impressive."
Following the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton currently stands sixth in the F1 World Championship, with 166 points to his name. The Brit has won two races so far this season, with the first one coming at the British GP in Silverstonr. His second win came at the Belgian Grand Prix in Stavelot
