Alpine and Franco Colapinto emerged as one of the unlikely stories from last weekend’s US GP. The decision from Alpine’s pit-wall to give Colapinto team orders sparked plenty of conversation online.
Arguably the greater reaction came from the team’s statement on social media, where Alpine team principal Steve Nielsen expressed he was “disappointed” that Colapinto ignored instructions and passed Gasly.
In this same statement, Nielsen explained there would be an internal investigation into the incident. In the preview to the upcoming Mexican GP, Colapinto has subsequently changed tune on his overtake in COTA.
Colapinto says team orders will be respected moving forward
One of the most overlooked stories since the summer break has been the resurgence of Franco Colapinto.
As outlined previously on LWOS, the A525’s pace makes it difficult for the 22-year-old to generate headlines. Even after strong performances, which he has routinely delivered in recent weeks, Colapinto is rarely the recipient of praise.
After allow, few people – under normal circumstances – are lining up to discuss the battle for P15.
With Alpine hardly ever in contention for points, only incidents or controversies shine a light on the Alpine duo. Last weekend validated this observation, with the Argentine and his French teammate suddenly under the microscope.
Their battle for 17th made waves after Colapinto, who was under pressure from Bortoleto, ignored team orders and passed Gasly. Colapinto’s reasoning, which is common in such incidents, was that he was simply faster than his teammate.
Despite pulling off the move and gaining the position, Alpine were unimpressed by his decision-making.
The team discussed this situation post-race, and their conclusion seems relatively clear. Speaking ahead of the Mexican GP, Colapinto says he was incorrect to go against the team:
“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.
“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.
“We are all together, and we are all working towards the same goal to keep getting better with each session and each race weekend.”
Another tough race ahead for Alpine
Irrespective of the debacle in Austin, Franco Colapinto has little to fear about his future with Alpine. His performances, especially in race trim, are comparable to those of his teammate.
None of Alpine’s reserve drivers, whilst still theoretically options for 2026, are likely to replace the 22-year-old. Although any further team orders will almost certainly be scrutinised more closely, the Enstone team’s lack of pace means they are unlikely to be fighting for any big points.
Limiting the damage in what remains of the 2025 campaign will be the priority at the French squad. Given that finishing 10th in the constructors Championship is slowly becoming an inevitability, avoiding any incidents until the season finale would be a positive.
After all, in the budget cap era, any unnecessary damage costs would impact the team’s budget for 2026.
Given the importance of the upcoming regulation changes for Alpine, they cannot afford any more hiccups to compromise their progress.
Main photo: Andy Hone/LAT Images (Alpine media gallery)
