Lewis Hamilton shows true colours after forgetting F1 rival's name in Baku
Lewis Hamilton endured a difficult afternoon in Baku on Sunday.
Lewis Hamilton showed his class after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, praising the work of rookies Oliver Bearman and Franco Colapinto - albeit after forgetting the latter's name.
Bearman was deputising for the suspended Kevin Magnussen, making his debut for the Haas team that he will race for on a full-time basis in 2025. He marked the occasion with a P10 finish following an excellent battle with Hamilton.
Colapinto, meanwhile, was also making his sophomore start and followed up an immense qualifying display by finishing in P8, picking up an invaluable four points for Williams.
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These performances attracted the attention of Hamilton, who was mired in a midfield battle with the two rookies after starting the Grand Prix from the pit lane following a late power unit change.
"All I can is it's really great to see talented young guys coming through and driving so well," he told Sky Sports F1 after the race. "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."
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Discussing their battle with Autosport, Bearman made it clear how much respect he has for Hamilton's driving style. “Well, you know when you go around the outside that he’s going to leave you space which is a nice feeling," he said.
“Like in Turn One, I knew that he wasn’t going to put me in a wall which is a bit less sure with some other drivers. That’s a nice feeling and it’s always very clean but hard when I was racing him.”
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Bearman and Colapinto's respective point hauls could have significant impacts on the end-of-season Constructors' Championship standings. Williams moved above Alpine in the battle for P8 with the help of Alex Albon's six-point return.
Haas, meanwhile, gained a point in their fight with VCARB for sixth place. Their Faenza-based rivals have now failed to score in three consecutive races, meaning the gap between the two teams stands at five points with seven races remaining.
