Franco Colapinto took to Instagram to share what he described as the “best moment of the day” during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The Williams driver expressed that shaking hands with Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton after the race was a “dream come true” moment.

The F2 driver was called in to replace Logan Sargeant ahead of the Italian Grand Prix after Williams decided to part ways with Sargeant due to his underperformance. Having failed to score any points during the season, Sargeant’s departure opened the door for Colapinto, who made an immediate impact by finishing 12th in his debut race at Monza.

In his first Formula 1 street race at Baku, the 21-year-old driver finished in the points in P8, ahead of Hamilton in P9. His stellar performance saw him close the gap to his teammate Alex Albon during the race, who finished P7. Despite finishing ahead of the seven-time world champion, Colapinto was in awe when Hamilton walked up to him to congratulate him with a handshake. Revealing the moment on social media, he said:

“My best moment of the day. How crazy and what a dream come true to shake hands with Lewis Hamilton after a race together. Wow!”

Colapinto’s performance in Baku marks Williams’ first double-point race finish since the 2023 United States Grand Prix. Expressing delight after scoring his first points in the premier class of motorsport, he told Formula1.com:

“It feels fantastic to be honest.

“I am very happy, very proud of the team. What we have achieved together is incredible and I am delighted for the job and the work we have been doing.

“A lot of effort goes into these points and we already climbed one position in the constructors’ championship and it’s only my second race together and we scored a lot of points together with Alex so it’s just an amazing result for the team. I am very happy for them, they deserve it so yeah, let’s keep going this way.

“It is very special, a dream come true. It is a long season still and we have many races left together but it is a great start. Very motivating for the next race.”

By securing an extra 10 points in Azerbaijan, Williams has overtaken Alpine into eighth place in the Constructors’ Standings with seven races still to go. Albon also achieved his best race result with Williams, momentarily holding third place around Baku before pitting to change tires.

Colapinto has an additional seven races to add to his Formula 1 experience before the conclusion of the current season. In 2025, Carlos Sainz will replace him at Williams, joining Albon for the new season.