Colapinto to be reassessed ahead of Vegas GP after monster crash

Colapinto suffered a monster crash as the chequered flag waved at the end of Qualifying 2 in Vegas.

The Argentinian clipped the barrier on the apex of Turn 18 which damaged the left-front wheel and rocketed the Williams across the road where it sustained a heavy impact with the barrier, tearing a further two wheels from the car.

While Colapinto was able to climb from the car, the crash was heavy enough for the medical car to be called.

The 21-year-old now faces a nervous wait to see if both he will be cleared to race, and whether the team can repair his car.

“During Qualifying Franco sustained a significant impact of over 50G, requiring a medical check out,” the team confirmed via a statement.

“An impact of this magnitude is obviously significant and severe and he will need to be evaluated again tomorrow before we will know whether he is clear to race.

“Franco’s health is all that matters and we are glad that he is otherwise okay.”

Colapinto’s crash is the latest in a string of large repair bills the team has had to cover.

He crashed twice in wet conditions in Sao Paulo, while team-mate Alex Albon didn’t start the race after having his own incident during the Sunday morning qualifying session that weekend.

That prompted a frantic effort from the team to repair both chassis and replenish its heavily depleted spares.

To its credit, Williams arrived in Las Vegas with two cars with the latest generation of upgrades fitted.

However, that effort has come at a cost, with the team having had to divert resources from other projects simply to get the cars running.

“Brazil was one of the toughest weekends we have ever experienced,” noted Williams sporting director, Sven Smeets.

“The team has showed immense resilience and teamwork over these past few weeks.

“Everybody has worked day and night to get us back into a good position for the last three races of the season.”

Colapinto qualified 14th fastest, should he take his place on the grid, four spots higher than Albon.

The Las Vegas Grand Prix begins at 17:00 AEDT on Sunday.