This weekend, the adventure of Franco Colapinto with the formula 3 Of Australia It had a dream beginning and an oblivious end. The Argentinian rider had won the Sprint race and played the national anthem on the podium but was disqualified a few hours later for technical reasons. The villains continued into the main race: he started seventh but had to retire on lap two after hitting a wall.

At 19, Colapinto is the Argentine driver with the greatest international exposure and last year he joined the young driver program of the Williams Formula 11 team. While waiting for his chance in the top category, this season he is part of the team The Dutch MP Motorsport, which races in F3.

The time change meant that Argentina ended Friday with the news of Franco’s victory in the Sprint race. However, it was revealed this Saturday morning that the three MP Motorsport cars had failed a technical inspection, meaning the Buenos Aires-born driver was stripped of his victory.

With expectations set in the main race, Franco looked to accelerate from the back of the grid: he started seventh and was hoping to get close to the front to continue adding points in the tournament, where he accumulates 10 points, product of his tenth place in Bahrain, where he was also second in the sprint.

However, Franco was left with the desire. A touch in turn 4 of the circuit caused a puncture to his car’s tyre, which caused him to lose control and crash into a wall.

His image of frustration getting out of car number 10 summed up a weekend to forget: Franco will only have his revenge in a month and a half, when the Imola GP will take place from 19 to 21 May.