In the midst of the controversy that followed the first races of the Formula 1 season, Alpine published an extensive open letter on its social networks in which it publicly supported
Franco Colapinto and denied the versions that spoke of an alleged inequality with his partner Pierre Gasly.First, the French scrounging condemned the attacks on the Argentine pilot for holding him unjustly responsible for the crash of Oliver Bearman in the
Japanese GP , and to Esteban Ocon, with whom Colapinto had a touch that relegated him to the Chinese GP.
In the same statement, Alpine also referred to criticism for the disparate performance between its drivers and was blunt: “The team also wants to clarify the concern of some fans regarding equality between our two cars: it strives to put the two fastest cars on the track and provide equal opportunities for both drivers to
be competitive.”In addition, they explained that, with occasional exceptions, both compete on equal terms: "This year, Pierre and Franco have been competing with the same equipment, except for some small underperforming parts that affected performance in China due to the change of gearbox components.”
The suspicions of some fans about alleged favouritism towards Gasly, because of his nationality, were also dismissed. The team emphasized their commitment to the Argentine: “Franco is our driver and the team has placed its trust in him, just like he has in the
team.”
Finally, Alpine acknowledged that, in the development of improvements, there may be momentary differences due to logistical reasons, although he assured that they will be communicated with transparency and quickly replicated in both cars
if they work.With the activity stopped until May, the team will take advantage of the break to analyze performance at the start of the season and seek an evolution that will allow it to be more competitive, while trying to reduce the tension generated in networks and support one of its drivers in the midst of the storm.
When Colapinto returns to racing
Inthe face of the cancellations of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the Argentine driver would only return to the ring in May, for the Miami Grand Prix, which will take place between Friday 1st and Sunday 3rd
