The final result of Franco Colapinto in Madrid turned out to be one of the highlights of his season, although the end of the race was far from calm. The Argentine finished seventh in the Spanish Grand Prix and earned six points, but in the final laps he had to navigate an uncomfortable situation with Pierre Gasly that put a position that seemed secured at risk.
The driver from Alpine was running eighth behind his teammate, who was in seventh place. However, the Frenchman had a mandatory pit stop pending, as he had started the race on hard tires and was required to use at least two different compounds. For that reason, he was obliged to enter the pits before the checkered flag.
The delay raised concerns within the French team because Oscar Piastri was rapidly closing in behind Colapinto. According to the team's calculations, Gasly was going to drop to 12th place once he made his stop, so the most convenient option was to free the Argentine and allow him to defend against the McLaren, while the Frenchman could try to hold off those coming behind.
However, time and distance were passing, and the position change was not happening. With the pressure from Piastri increasing, Colapinto began to urge his race engineer, Stuart Barlow, to intervene. "Guys... Let's not waste time!", demanded the Argentine. Barlow replied: "Yes, we're on it, buddy". The situation did not change, and Colapinto insisted again over the radio, this time with a much higher tone: “Change, change! Honestly... My God! Guys, change! For the love of God! If I lose... (audio cuts off)".
The complaint had a concrete reason: every second behind Gasly could benefit Piastri. While the Frenchman was obliged to stop, Colapinto could maintain his position until the end, so letting him go free to defend himself was the most logical option for the team.
Finally, Gasly entered the pits at the last available opportunity and fell out of the points zone. Colapinto was able to face the final meters without his teammate ahead, although he still had to withstand the pressure from the McLaren, which got very close. The Argentine crossed the finish line in seventh place with just 1.558 seconds ahead of Piastri. In this way, he maintained a result he had built throughout the weekend: he started ninth, gained two positions at the start, and made it back into Q3.
When Colapinto will race again
After his brilliant performance on Spanish soil, the Argentine will now travel to Baku for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Due to the fact that Sunday, September 27, is observed as Remembrance Day in that country, in memory of those who fell during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the action will be moved up 24 hours, so the competition will start on Thursday, September 24, with the first free practices and will conclude on Saturday, September 26, with the main race.
In his previous appearances on the urban circuit of the capital of the Asian country, the native of Pilar had very different results. In 2024, when he was still part of Williams, he finished eighth, earning his first points as a Formula 1 driver, while in 2025, already with Alpine, he finished in 19th place out of 20, largely marked by the poor performance of his car.
