"Afraid for the Lewis Hamilton fans wishing me death again": Former F1 title contender praises Franco Colapinto for finishing ahead of Mercedes star

Former F1 driver and 1999 title contender Heinz-Herald Frentzen recently complimented Williams driver Franco Colapinto's performance at the 2024 F1 Azerbaijan GP. However, he feared Lewis Hamilton's fanbase would criticize him again since the Argentine driver finished ahead of the seven-time world champion.

Frentzen gave his thoughts on the Azerbaijan GP on his official X account. Williams recently replaced Logan Sargeant with Colapinto. The race in Baku was the Argentine's second-ever F1 Grand Prix, in which he successfully scored four points, placing himself ahead of Sargeant in the 2024 F1 drivers' standings.

Hamilton was chasing Colapinto in the latter stages of the race. The Mercedes star was in P12 and chased Colapinto in P11. Before the chequered flag, the Argentine managed to overtake Nico Hulkenberg to secure P8 and score four points, while Hamilton secured P9.

While congratulating Franco Colapinto on X, Heinz-Herald Frentzen also mentioned that he feared Lewis Hamilton's fanbase since the Williams driver finished ahead of the Brit. He also recalled how he faced their online criticism in July when he analyzed the seven-time world champion's crash with Max Verstappen at the Hungarian GP.

"I wanted to praise Franco for his good job today but I am afraid for the Lewis Fans wishing me death again after race analysis in Hungary crash wish Max."

Though there was no official post about Hamilton and Verstappen's crash found on his X account, the former F1 driver said he analyzed the crash and claimed that many Hamilton fans criticized him for his opinion on the incident.

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Lewis Hamilton heaps praise on Oliver Bearman and Franco Colapinto's performance at the F1 Azerbaijan GP

Lewis Hamilton praised junior drivers Oliver Bearman and Franco Colapinto for their performance at the 2024 F1 Azerbaijan GP. Since his race was not the best, he showered positive comments on the younger generation who raced in Baku.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Hamilton said he was happy to see young talents coming into F1 and excelling. He first praised Ferrari's protege, then praised the Argentine.

"All I can say is it was really great to see talented youngsters coming through and driving so well. Oliver did a great job, racing against him, it was tough but fair. And yeah (...) Franco Colapinto. Yeah he did a great job," Hamilton said.

Colapinto is an interim F1 driver racing for Williams and will soon be replaced by Carlos Sainz, who joins the British team in 2025. Meanwhile, Bearman replaced Kevin Magnussen in Haas for the Azerbaijan GP because he had to serve a race ban after collecting 12 penalty points on his super license. However, Bearman has a permanent seat with the American team in 2025.