The French team publicly criticized the Argentine driver for ignoring instructions to maintain his position behind Gasly at the United States Grand Prix
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The internal situation at Alpine added a new chapter after the United States Grand Prix. The French team issued a statement in which it expressed its "disappointment" withFranco Colapinto, after the Argentine driver disobeyed orders to maintain his position behind his teammate Pierre Gasly in the final laps of the race.
Chief Executive Officer Steve Nielsen acknowledged that, although the overall performance over the weekend was a step forward compared to previous events, the ending left a bitter taste.
"As a team, we have a lot to analyze. Although our level of competitiveness is still far from allowing us to score points, it has been encouraging to take a small step forward compared to the last races," Nielsen stated in the official statement.
El comunicado de Alpine luego de la carrera
However, the executive pointed directly to Colapinto's maneuver: "We gave instructions to the drivers to maintain their positions, since we were managing the fuel of both cars and the added variable of the number of laps remaining with the leaders very close".
"As a team, any instruction given from the pit wall is final, and today we're disappointed because this was not the case. This is something we'll review internally," the statement concluded.
The incident occurred on lap 55 of 56, when, after being overtaken by Isack Hadjar, Gasly was just ahead of Colapinto. From the pit wall, engineer Stuart Barlow ordered the Argentine to maintain positions, but the young driver replied in surprise: "Maintain our positions?! But he's slow!". Immediately afterward, he overtook him in turn 1 and pulled away from the Frenchman, sealing his finish ahead of his teammate.
After the race, Colapinto defended his decision: "It was the right thing to do. I had to give up position several times during the season. He had slightly older tires, he was over a second slower and it was the best for the situation we were in, because Bortoleto was attacking me a lot".
Gasly, meanwhile, avoided escalating the conflict: "We're simply too slow... I care more about the performance issue than this kind of thing," he stated, downplaying the controversy.
The situation exposed some internal tension at Alpine, a team going through a challenging season in terms of competitiveness. Although Colapinto's performance continues to improve, the episode in Austin could mark a turning point in his relationship with the French pit wall.
