Franco Colapinto suffered a setback once the Spanish Grand Prix concluded. When it seemed he had secured a valuable eighth position for Alpine, the stewards of Formula 1 decided to impose a 10-second penalty that altered the final result of the race held at the Circuit de Catalunya.
The sanction was related to an infraction committed during a yellow flag period. After analyzing various evidence, the authorities concluded that the Argentine driver did not sufficiently reduce speed in the affected sector, violating Article B1.8.4 a. of the FIA sporting regulations.
As a consequence, Colapinto dropped from eighth to tenth place in the official standings, and instead of earning 4 points, he would only receive one point. The modification allowed Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad to advance one position each, while the Argentine remained ahead of Gabriel Bortoleto. In addition to the time penalty, the FIA added one penalty point to his superlicense, bringing his total to two in the last twelve months.
In the official document, the stewards explained the reasons for their decision. "The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 43, the team representative, and reviewed the data from the positioning/signaling system, video, timing, telemetry, team radio, and onboard video evidence", they stated.
They further detailed that "although the driver of Car 43 slightly reduced speed before entering the single yellow flag zone, he did not decrease speed noticeably in the corresponding yellow flag sector".
The resolution also acknowledged that the Argentine reacted to the warning, although it considered that this response was not sufficient to comply with the regulations. "The Stewards acknowledge that the driver reacted to the yellow flag, but do not consider the reaction sufficient to comply with the regulations. Therefore, a penalty is imposed at the lower end of the applicable penalty scale", concluded the report.
Driver Standings after Barcelona
1° - Andra Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) - 156 points
2° - Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) - 115 points
3° - George Russell (Mercedes) - 106 points
4° - Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 75 points
5° - Lando Norris (McLaren) - 73 points
6° - Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - 68 points
7° - Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 55 points
8° - PIERRE GASLY (Alpine) - 41 points
9° - Isaac Hadjar (Red Bull) - 34 points
10° - Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) - 28 points
11° - Oliver Bearman (Haas) - 18 points
12° - FRANCO COLAPINTO (Alpine) - 16 points
13° - Arvid Limblad (Racing Bulls) - 13 points
