Colapinto says Clarkson’s grid-penalty joke was unrelated to Alpine

Franco Colapinto said Jeremy Clarkson’s joke about giving him a grid penalty for being Argentinian had nothing to do with Alpine. He was asked about the remarks after the United States Grand Prix.

Clarkson, a guest of Alpine’s in Austin, made the joke in a Sky Sports F1 interview on Saturday. He said he would give Colapinto a grid penalty for being Argentinian and linked the comment to “what happened when we went there.”

Colapinto’s actual grid penalty was for exceeding his power-unit parts quota. Clarkson’s reference most likely concerned Top Gear’s 2014 Patagonia special, whose filming was cut short amid tensions over a number plate that Argentinian protesters interpreted as a reference to the Falklands War.

Alpine said it was aware of its guest’s comments and that Colapinto had the team’s full support.

Asked in the post-race media pen a day after Clarkson’s interview, Colapinto said, “I think he's always been kind of joking,” while adding that he did not know Clarkson well. He also said he had not seen much of Clarkson’s comments and had heard that his manager, Jamie Campbell-Walter, had posted something on social media.