Franco Colapinto defended Gabriel Bortoleto after the GP of São Paulo, where Bortoleto had to prematurely end his first home race due to an incident with Lance Stroll. The Brazilian was hit by his Canadian competitor in the opening phase and crashed into the wall. Bortoleto later stated that Stroll was not to blame, but Colapinto nonetheless strongly criticized the Aston Martin driver.
In the opening round, Lance Stroll tried to fend off Bortoleto’s attacks. The home hero attempted to overtake on the outside going into turn ten, but hit the Canadian’s left rear tire. His Sauber crashed into the wall, prematurely ending Bortoleto’s first home race. However, he refused to criticize Stroll afterwards, dismissing the collision as an unfortunate racing incident.
Racing Incident
“I had already overtaken two cars there,” Bortoleto responded disappointedly. “It was a good move. Unfortunately, I was right next to Stroll in the ninth round. I’m not out to blame anyone,” he added. “He hit my front, which caused me to hit the wall. I think it was just a racing incident. If he had left a bit more space, I would have made the turn and probably overtaken him. After all, he had worse tires. But again, it’s a racing incident. He probably didn’t do it on purpose. In previous battles, I always found him fair.”
Franco Colapinto, who had a good view of the incident from his Alpine cockpit, was much less forgiving and strongly criticized Stroll. “Stroll knocks people out of the race so often,” the Argentine responded defiantly. “He just doesn’t look in his mirrors and leaves no space. That’s how he pushed Gabi (Bortoleto) into the wall. He does it every time.”
