Flavio Briatore could not hide his frustration. The Alpine executive watched his drivers, Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly, collide at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, throwing away a big points opportunity for the team.
The incident occurred on lap 36 during a restart. Colapinto locked his front tyres on the dusty, low-grip inside of the Baku street circuit and slammed into the side of Gasly. Both were eliminated, and McLaren's Lando Norris was also caught in the chaos. Alpine lost a likely double points finish.
Briatore spoke out in an official team statement. "Obviously I'm extremely disappointed with the outcome of today's race, knowing we lost valuable points in the Championship fight," he said. "These sorts of incidents shouldn't happen, particularly when we were running well with both cars in point-scoring positions. I feel very sorry for the team and for Pierre who did a great job all weekend, and my apologies also go to Lando and McLaren for ruining their race."
Colapinto, known for his aggressive style, was deemed to have made a basic error. "I know that Franco has taken full responsibility for it, as he should; in fact, he braked far too late considering the context of the race and the safety car restart. It was a very poor move for a driver of his experience," Briatore asserted.
The incident is a heavy blow for Franco Colapinto, who had been enjoying his strongest form in F1 to date. His impressive performances even earned him a new Alpine deal for 2027, alongside Gasly. But the Baku blunder could be a stain on his rising career.
Briatore made it clear he will evaluate the next steps. "I want to take time to reflect on it and consider what course of action should be taken, so we can learn from it and avoid such a situation in future," he concluded. This opens speculation that internal sanctions could await Colapinto, though no official decision has been made.
From McLaren's side, Norris did not stay silent. He called on the FIA to consider a one-race ban for Colapinto for careless driving. This demand adds pressure on the Argentine, who now faces sharp scrutiny from rivals and his own boss.
For Alpine, this incident is a bitter reminder that consistency remains a work in progress. With competition intensifying, losing points due to self-inflicted errors could have a major impact on their constructors' standings. Briatore, known for his no-nonsense approach, will not let this slide.
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