A costly collision in Baku
Alpine endured a Saturday to forget at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. After qualifying had placed Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly in promising starting positions, the French team lost both cars in a single incident on lap 36. The Argentine locked up under braking and slammed into his teammate, ending the race for both drivers.[S1]
Colapinto was quick to accept responsibility. As soon as he climbed out of his car, the Argentine driver appeared visibly shaken and described how the manoeuvre unfolded: he said he locked up when he began braking and then lost control for the entire braking phase, leaving him with little he could do.[S1]
Far from making excuses, the driver from Pilar was self-critical and apologized to both the team and his teammate. He admitted it was a big and serious mistake, aware that the incident had abruptly ended a race in which Alpine had realistic chances of scoring with both cars.[S1]
Points lost and Norris caught up
Colapinto was running tenth and Gasly seventh on lap 36 when, after the safety car withdrew, the Argentine attempted a divebomb but overshot and collected both his teammate and British driver Lando Norris of McLaren, who also had to retire.[S2]
The frustration was compounded by the timing of the crash. Colapinto had been putting together a solid race and the team had kept both drivers in the fight for points. But the error on the restart after the safety car changed everything in seconds, leaving Alpine, Colapinto and Gasly without reward after a weekend that had shown positive signs.[S1]
Had the race finished as it stood, Gasly could have earned six points and Colapinto one, which would have lifted Alpine to 75 points and within two of Racing Bulls, fifth in the constructors' championship. Instead, with British driver Arvid Lindblad crossing the line in seventh, the Red Bull sister team extended its advantage by 15 points.[S2]
What comes next
Colapinto said the team had lost many points with both cars and described it as a complicated day that had been going quite well. He added that he was sad about the situation and that they would try to turn it around soon. Now he must quickly move past the Baku blow and focus on the next race, while Alpine looks to recover the points that slipped away on a day that ended far earlier than expected.[S1]
Colapinto's next challenge in Formula 1 will be on Sunday, October 4, when the Bahrain Grand Prix takes place at the Sepang International Circuit.[S2]
