The Alpine team caused a stir in the closing stages of the United States Grand Prix. Franco Colapinto ignored direct team orders and overtook teammate Pierre Gasly for the sixteenth place. The French racing team reprimanded the driver via a social media post and stated that the incident would be handled ‘internally’. Looking ahead to the upcoming race weekend in Mexico, Colapinto expressed regret and emphasized that team instructions are always paramount.
Towards the end of the Grand Prix in Austin, Colapinto – who was running in P17 at the time – was instructed to stay behind teammate Pierre Gasly. The Frenchman was in sixteenth place, but because he had pitted relatively early for the soft tires, he was vulnerable to the cars behind him. It was Colapinto’s job to protect his teammate. However, the 22-year-old Argentine saw things differently. “Wait a minute… hold positions?” he exclaimed over the radio, audibly frustrated. “But he’s slow!” Colapinto ignored the message and overtook his French teammate.
Colapinto Reprimanded?
He received a rebuke from Alpine on social media. “Our instructions are final, so we will handle this internally,” the team wrote. The post was later deleted. However, it appears that Colapinto has been reprimanded. “The team situation on Sunday has been discussed internally and it is clear that the team’s instructions must always be followed, no matter what happens,” he responded in a preview of the Mexican GP. “We have to do it together and are still united in our goal – to improve every session and every race weekend.”Paul Aron Steps in for Alpine During VT1, Notable Number of Rookies in Mexico
The incident underscores the current form of Alpine, which still firmly sits at the bottom of the standings. “It was a challenging weekend in Austin, where I struggled a lot with the car,” Colapinto continued. “Only one training session, the difficult conditions, and not being able to find the right balance all contributed to a tough Grand Prix. We need to better understand why we had so much trouble with the car and figure out how to fix this in the future. However, we are aware that we are facing a difficult end phase with this package.”
Paul Aron
On a personal level, Colapinto also has cause for concern. There has been speculation for weeks that he may be replaced by test and reserve driver Paul Aron. Colapinto does not yet have a contract for 2026 and so far has not performed much better than his predecessor, Jack Doohan. Senior advisor Flavio Briatore has already stated that no driver from outside the Alpine ranks will be brought in. In Mexico, Colapinto can directly compare himself with Aron; the Estonian driver will take Gasly’s place during VT1.
