Franco Colapinto's race at the Hungarian Grand Prix was marked by errors in the pits that relegated him in the final classification. Despite a strong performance in Saturday's qualifying that placed him 14th on the grid, the Alpine driver couldn't maintain the pace on Sunday at the Hungaroring circuit, and finished well below his expectations.
The first major setback came on lap 13, when the Argentine entered the pits to change from medium to hard tires. The stop lasted 11 seconds, far from the 2 to 3 second standard managed by the leading teams.
Las pit stops de Colapinto fueron de las más lentas de Hungría
Already on lap 36, the Argentine stopped again as part of a two-stop strategy, once more replacing hard tires. But Alpine failed again: the second pit stop lasted more than 7 seconds, a delay that ultimately ruined any chance of a comeback.
To put it in context, Frenchman Pierre Gasly, who opted for a single stop, was stationary for only 2.5 seconds.
Alpine investigates a software failure
After the setback, Alpine launched an internal investigation to identify what caused the delays. According to the specialized outlet Motorsport.com, the main hypothesis is a software failure in the system that releases the car after the stop.
La demora pudo haber sido provocada por una falla de software
Team sources explained that a pneumatic gun on the left rear wheel may not have recognized that the tire change was complete, preventing the activation of the green light for the car's release. The pit system requires a precise sequence of signals for safety reasons, and when this is not met, the car was held unnecessarily.
The French team stated that it was an "unfortunate coincidence" that affected both of the Argentine's stops and that they are already working to solve the issue before Formula 1 resumes at the end of August in Zandvoort, host of the Dutch Grand Prix.
