Briatore draws a line under Alpine’s costly Baku disaster

Flavio Briatore has drawn a line under Alpine’s bruising Azerbaijan Grand Prix, admitting he was “very disappointed” by Franco Colapinto’s costly clash with team-mate Pierre Gasly but insisting there is little value in allowing the incident to consume the team.

Colapinto’s error in Baku proved particularly damaging for Alpine, which is locked in a battle with Racing Bulls for fifth place in the constructors’ championship.

The Argentine not only eliminated his team-mate from the race but will also carry a five-place grid penalty into this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.

For Briatore, however, the priority now is firmly on what Alpine can still achieve rather than what it lost in Azerbaijan.

Briatore closes the Baku chapter

Speaking at the team principal’s press conference at Sepang, Briatore confirmed that any discussions with his drivers would remain an internal team matter, while making clear that the disappointment had been shared throughout Alpine.

“Whatever we do is internal to the team,” Briatore told the media. “Sure, I was very disappointed when it happened in Baku, but it's another race. Everybody forgets, you know.

“We need to keep looking always for the future, and the past is the past, and nothing can be done.

“I was upset, yes, like I believe everybody in the team was, including Franco, for the mistake he made. But this is the past.

“We need to go ahead and think about the future, talking about the race today, the qualifying tomorrow, and the race on Sunday. And every race is a different scenario.

“Last weekend was not nice for us at all, and we are fighting for the fifth position with Racing Bulls. We give away a lot of points.

“After that, it's finito. What can we do? Whatever we've done, it's impossible to come back.”

The message was clear: Alpine cannot recover the points surrendered in Baku, so its attention must shift towards protecting its championship position in the races ahead.

Briatore questions Racing Bulls decision

There was, however, one part of the Baku fallout that Briatore has not quite managed to leave behind.

The Alpine boss remains puzzled by the stewards’ decision not to penalise Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad after he collided with team-mate Liam Lawson in an incident Briatore felt bore striking similarities to Colapinto’s clash with Gasly.

While accepting Alpine’s penalty was deserved, he questioned why the same standard did not appear to have been applied to Lindblad.

“Coming back to Baku, something I really, really don't understand is this: we were penalised, and we deserve to be penalized,” he said.

“I don't understand why Racing Bull was not penalised, because Lindblad had done exactly the same to Lawson. Why were we penalised and Lindblad was not penalised?”

For Briatore, then, Baku is officially in the past. The stewards’ decision, however, remains one loose end he clearly has not forgotten.

• Read also: Lindblad apologizes but Lawson baffled by lack of punishment

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