(Motorsport-Total.com) – Although he scored a point again, the Formula 1 race in Barcelona brought some frustration for Franco Colapinto. During the race, he had to let teammate Pierre Gasly pass on team orders, and after the Grand Prix, he received a time penalty that cost him positions and points.
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At first, the Argentine had no understanding for the team order: “He is one or two seconds ahead and I’m not even pushing,” Colapinto tried to convince his team after being asked (“That’s an order”) to give up his position to Gasly. “If I’m supposed to push, I’ll push. At least give me a chance.”
The perspective is understandable, after all, both were on a similar strategy. Gasly had only fitted the slightly fresher hards by two laps compared to Colapinto.
But in hindsight, the Argentine is understanding: “I think it’s always more frustrating for the car in front because you don’t want to lose a position and don’t want to lose three seconds through an overtaking maneuver,” he explains. “But in the garage, they have a much better overview. Of course, I understand the decision.”
Time penalty costs points
In the end, both Alpines finished in seventh and eighth place and were able to celebrate ten points – until the stewards intervened retrospectively.
When Fernando Alonso stopped his Aston Martin with a suspected battery problem in turn 9 on lap 40, Colapinto did not slow down sufficiently under the local yellow flag before a virtual safety car phase (VSC) was called, according to the stewards.
| Race | Gasly (Q) | Colapinto (Q) | Gasly (R) | Colapinto (R) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 3 | 5 | 2 | |
| Australia | 14. | 16. (+0.769) | 10. | 14. (+1 lap) |
| China | 7. | 12. (+0.354) | 6. | 10. (+1 lap) |
| Japan | 7. | 15. (+0.753) | 7. | 16. (+33.4) |
| Miami | 9. (+0.048) | 8. | Retirement | 7. |
| Canada | 14. (+0.330) | 10. | 8. (+15.1) | 6. |
| Monaco | 9. | 14. (+0.233) | 3. | 14. (+28.6) |
| Barcelona | 14. (+0.070) | 13. | 7. | 10. (+24.1) |
The stewards believed that although the Argentine had lifted off the throttle, this was not enough to comply with the yellow flag and handed him a ten-second time penalty. This dropped him from eighth to tenth place in the standings – behind the Racing Bulls duo Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad.
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In addition, Colapinto received a penalty point on his license – the first to be issued by the stewards this year.
“The stewards find that the driver of car 43 slightly reduced speed before entering the zone with the single yellow flag, but did not make a noticeable speed reduction in the corresponding yellow flag sector,” the reasoning states.
“The stewards acknowledge that the driver reacted to the yellow flag but do not consider this reaction sufficient to comply with the regulations. Therefore, a penalty at the lower end of the applicable penalty range is imposed.”
Before the penalty was announced, Colapinto had rated the weekend positively: “It was a very good race, very solid. As a team, we showed that we are really strong and that we turned around a difficult result. Overall, absolutely positive, it was a much stronger race day.”
“With a full tank, we showed that we were better. Of course, we continue to work and try to improve for the next few races, as you can see that the car doesn’t feel optimal and we still have many things to improve and understand.”
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