Franco Colapinto aimed his arrows at the FIA stewards after the Dutch GP; he felt that two penalties unnecessarily ruined his race. The Alpine driver received a drive-through penalty in the opening phase for overtaking Yuki Tsunoda under yellow flags, and later received a ten-second time penalty for the same violation. Remarkably, his main sponsor also expressed strong criticism. Alpine has since distanced itself from that comment.
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In the first lap, Colapinto wanted to pass Tsunoda, but a few meters ahead Max Verstappen spun. As a result, yellow flags were waved, but according to the Argentine it was too late to abort his maneuver. That cost him dearly. “It was that drive-through penalty that ruined our entire race,” he said afterwards. “I had a very good start and was running at the front in the points. Yes, just difficult, I think.”
Stewards need to be flexible
He pointed to the treacherous conditions. “It’s all hard to judge when you’re fighting, the track is wet, and all kinds of debris are flying through the air. I saw a yellow flag very late, when I was actually already finishing my overtaking move. It would have been much more dangerous to slam on the brakes on a wet banking and then go full throttle on the straight while everyone around me is spinning. So yes, a very difficult situation.”
The Alpine driver found the penalty too harsh. He advocated for more room for interpretation by the stewards. “I think that, although rules must exist, the stewards should be much more flexible. There should be certain criteria to determine what is safe or unsafe. In this situation, I find the stewards extremely strict,” Colapinto emphasized. “Of course, it’s their job, but it’s also their task to be a bit more flexible and understand the situation. Such a drive-through penalty just ruins your race.”
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Main sponsor delivers strong criticism
Mercado Libre, Colapinto’s main sponsor, also gave the FIA stewards a harsh rebuke. Sean Summers, marketing director of the South American billion-dollar company, expressed strong criticism via social media. “The stewards are destroying the integrity of Formula 1,” he wrote. “This season they have been terrible and are influencing the results. Incompetence? Dishonesty? Both? There is something seriously wrong with the culture of that organization.”
Alpine has since distanced itself from the comment and emphasizes that it maintains confidence in the FIA and the stewards. “As a team, we work closely with the FIA to establish the rules on the circuit and to ensure fair, exciting, and above all safe races,” reads a statement. “We fully trust the FIA and the stewards when it comes to enforcing these rules and imposing sporting penalties during a race.” The team did acknowledge that Colapinto was penalized notably harshly. “We believe the penalties were indeed severe, but recognize that they are in line with the letter of the law and have been applied consistently to all drivers.”
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