Colapinto admits to mistake: ‘Instructions must always be followed'

Franco Colapinto is back in line after a tense moment at the United States Grand Prix saw the Alpine rookie flout a team order in the closing stages of the race – and get his knuckles metaphorically wrapped as a result.

The 20-year-old Argentine, who has struggled to justify his presence on the grid this season, admitted that the situation highlighted the importance of discipline within the team.

Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Mexico City Grand Prix, Colapinto made it clear that Alpine’s instructions are now to be taken very seriously.

“The team situation on Sunday has been discussed internally and it is clear that instructions by the team must always be followed no matter what,” Colapinto said.

“We are all together, and we are all working towards the same goal to keep getting better with each session and each race weekend.”

The context for the reprimand came late in the Austin race, when Colapinto was catching team-mate Pierre Gasly at a rate of 0.7 seconds per lap. On lap 54, Alpine instructed the rookie to hold positions.

Colapinto’s initial reaction was telling: “Wait, what? Hold positions? But he’s slow!”

Despite the directive, Colapinto overtook Gasly, finishing 17th – one place ahead of the Frenchman –while Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto remained close behind.

A rookie defending his actions

In the heat of the moment, Colapinto justified his decision to ignore the team order and overtake his teammate.

“I just had quite a bit more pace than Pierre in the last stint and had Bortoleto really close behind, attacking very hard, and he was much quicker than us,” he explained.

“I just couldn't really help with how slow Pierre was going, so I think it was the best for the situation to have me in front and try not to get both cars behind.”

Even as Colapinto reflects on the mistake, he acknowledges that Alpine is navigating one of its toughest patches in F1 history. The team has finished the last four races with both cars outside the top 15.

“It was a challenging weekend in Austin where I struggled a lot with the car,” Colapinto admitted.

“Having just one practice session, the tricky conditions and not being able to find the right balance all played into a tough weekend on my side.

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“We need to understand more closely why we struggled so much with the car and work to fix this going forward, even if we know we're in for a difficult end to the year with the package we have.”

Colapinto’s experience serves as a reminder to the rookie that in Formula 1, team cohesion and discipline can be just as crucial as raw performance.

While his pace was undeniable in Austin, the lesson is clear: next time, the instructions must come first.

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