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Franco Colapinto didn’t hold back after the São Paulo Grand Prix, launching a furious attack on Lance Stroll. The Argentine driver blamed the Canadian for Gabriel Bortoleto’s crash on the opening lap, accusing him of defending “way too aggressively” and forcing the young Brazilian into the wall.
It had already been a weekend to forget for Bortoleto. After a heavy crash in Saturday’s Sprint, the Sauber driver started the main race from the back of the grid. Despite that, the 20-year-old rookie made an impressive start. He passed Lewis Hamilton at Descida do Lago, then swept around the outside of Colapinto. But when he tried to go side by side with Stroll through Pinheirinho, things went wrong. Stroll moved left just as Bortoleto placed his car alongside the Aston Martin, causing a heavy impact with the wall.
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Colapinto Slams Stroll’s Driving
Colapinto, who was directly behind the incident, didn’t mince his words. “Stroll always pushes people off the track because he just doesn’t look in his mirrors and leaves no space,” the Alpine driver told reporters at Interlagos. “He literally forced Gabi into the wall. He keeps doing the same thing, and it’s frustrating because this could easily have been avoided.”
Bortoleto, however, took a calmer view of the collision. The Brazilian described it as “just a racing incident.” “I had a good start, overtook Lewis and then Colapinto on the outside of Turn 6,” he explained. “At Turn 9, I was alongside Lance. He went a bit wider than there was room for and clipped my front tyre, which sent me into the wall. There’s no need to point fingers — it was the first lap.”
Bortoleto Keeps It Sporting
Despite his disappointment, Bortoleto remained respectful toward his rival. “Lance is normally a fair racer,” he said. “If he’d given me just a little more room, I could have made the corner and probably passed him, because he was on worse tyres. But I don’t think he did it on purpose. That’s just racing.”
The crash ended a frustrating weekend for Bortoleto, who has impressed in his debut Formula 1 season. For Stroll, the incident could have further consequences: the stewards have noted the clash, but it remains to be seen whether any action will follow.
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