Franco Colapinto still has the full backing of Alpine and Flavio Briatore despite his controversial crash at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The young Argentine took out his teammate Pierre Gasly and McLaren's Lando Norris during a safety car restart, costing the team a double points finish.
The incident at Turn 1 immediately sparked speculation that Briatore would hand down a heavy punishment, including the possibility of benching Colapinto for the Malaysian Grand Prix. However, Alpine chose a different approach. Colapinto flew straight to the UK after the race and completed a simulator session at the factory as part of preparations for the triple-header, not as a penalty.
Speaking on Thursday in Sepang, Colapinto insisted his seat was never in danger. "Not really," he said when asked if being replaced by reserve driver Paul Aron was a possibility. "I went straight to the sim after the race. I was in the factory straight away. Getting ready for the race here in Malaysia. Those things never change."
Nevertheless, Colapinto admitted that Briatore and the entire team were furious. "Flavio was angry and everyone in the team was angry. It's not a nice situation to be in, and even worse to be the one creating it. It's the last thing you want as a team," he explained. "But we fixed it internally and they've been fully supportive – and willing to look forward very quickly."
Data analysis revealed that Colapinto's mistake was relatively small. He was carrying more speed due to the slipstream effect and demanded slightly too much from the brakes. "Touch the brakes 2-3% too much, you lock the front and you don't stop," he said. "It's quite simple. Everyone had a lock-up. It's just at a point where you are running with much more speed – you suddenly have a lot of energy because you didn't deploy [on the straight, because of the safety car]. We were suddenly doing 320, 330 [km/h] in a corner that maybe you are not [usually] doing as much."
As a result of the incident, Colapinto still faces a five-place grid drop for the next race. However, the full support from Alpine signals that the team still believes in his potential. The decision not to bench him also shows that Briatore and the management prefer nurturing over reactive punishment.
With a busy race schedule, Colapinto's focus now shifts to Malaysia. He is determined to prove that the Baku incident will not hinder his career with Alpine. The support he has received, both from the team and other drivers, will be crucial as he faces the pressures of the remainder of the season.
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