Sergio Perez continued to commend rookie driver Franco Colapinto, stating that the young Argentine “didn’t put a foot wrong” in his defensive performance during the Singapore Grand Prix.

Colapinto showcased his skills in Singapore with a bold move into Turn 1, securing ninth place on the opening lap. He successfully defended against Perez, hindering the Mexican driver’s progress for the first 28 laps.

Despite his frustration, Perez acknowledged Colapinto’s talent over the radio, saying, “he’s very good, difficult to pass,” as he remained closely behind the FW46.

After 28 laps, Perez decided to pit, and although Williams called Colapinto in a lap later, the timing allowed Perez to execute an effective undercut on his fellow Latin American.

Colapinto finished just 1.6 seconds behind Perez, unable to close the gap into DRS range towards the end of the race, as Perez himself was caught behind Nico Hulkenberg.

“He did a fantastic race,” Perez remarked after the race. “He didn’t put a foot wrong. It was tough to keep up with him, and it was just a challenging race. We managed to undercut him, but that was the only advantage we had.”

Colapinto expressed gratitude for Perez’s kind words, especially since he had supported the Red Bull driver during his childhood while watching F1.

However, Colapinto was disappointed not to score points, attributing this to extending his stint on medium tires, which made him vulnerable to the undercut.

“I was pushing hard. Checo is a super nice guy, and I grew up watching him in F1, waking up early in Argentina to support him as a fellow Latin American. It was great to cheer for him as a kid, and now it’s even better to be racing against him.”

He lamented not finishing in the points after a solid effort, saying, “It’s a pity we didn’t score points after a good race. We made some mistakes that cost us. When you aim for perfection… we weren’t perfect today, and that’s why we missed out on points.”