Colapinto plays down prospect of missing Sepang weekend

At a safety-car restart in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Franco Colapinto hit Alpine team-mate Pierre Gasly, who then made contact with Lando Norris. All three retired. Briatore described Colapinto’s move as poor but said he wanted time to consider what, if any, action Alpine should take. He said Colapinto had accepted responsibility and that the team should learn from the incident. No specific team sanction was announced.

Colapinto apologised, saying he had locked up on cold tyres and brakes and lost control. He said Alpine had been in a position to score points with both cars before the collision.

RacingNews365 also reports that a ten-second penalty Colapinto could not serve after retiring became a five-place grid drop. The penalty applies to the race at Sepang.

Update

Asked whether sitting out the Sepang weekend had been a genuine possibility, Colapinto replied: “Not really.” He said he had returned to Alpine’s factory to prepare for the race and that his preparations had not changed. RacingNews365 also reports that Alpine named him in its race preview and put him back in the simulator at Enstone.

Colapinto said he locked up at Turn 1, accepted responsibility for the collision and apologised for taking out Gasly and Lando Norris. He acknowledged Flavio Briatore’s anger, but said the team had dealt with the matter internally and had been supportive.