Franco Colapinto has received backing from Juan Pablo Montoya after the restart crash at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix that eliminated three cars. The former Formula 1 driver compared the Alpine driver's aggressive approach with that of Max Verstappen, arguing that the instinct to attack opportunities can also carry the risk of mistakes.
Colapinto was handed a five-place grid penalty for the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang after stewards deemed him predominantly responsible for the Turn 1 collision on lap 36. The Argentine carried too much speed into the corner, locked his brakes and hit team-mate Pierre Gasly.
Gasly was then pushed into Lando Norris, eliminating all three cars from the race. The stewards found that no other driver contributed to the error and maintained the sanction despite the incident occurring at the first corner following a Safety Car restart.
Speaking to F1TV, Montoya said he understood why Colapinto attempted to take the available gap. He argued that such an aggressive approach can be positive, but also creates the possibility of mistakes when a driver constantly looks for opportunities to gain positions.
"The difficult thing in that case is that you're aggressive, you see an opportunity and you have to admire it. I admire people who try."
Montoya then compared that approach with Verstappen, who he described as a driver who consistently looks to exploit opportunities. However, the Colombian stressed that continually taking such opportunities inevitably creates situations in which mistakes can occur.
"When you're always the guy, like Max, who always sees an opportunity to take advantage of it, you're going to make mistakes."
Montoya also pointed to the restart itself as a factor in Colapinto's misjudgement. The long train of cars had bunched up after the Safety Car period, making braking references harder to predict for a driver approaching Turn 1 from further back.
"It's difficult because it seemed like everyone was braking very early. I think the issue is that, when you have a reference point and you're coming in at, I don't know, 320, 330 kilometres per hour and you brake at the 120-metre reference point, you expect that, coming in at 200, you're going to brake at the 80-metre one. I think he expected everyone to go much further."
Montoya added that Colapinto came close to avoiding the crash after recognising that traffic ahead was slowing rapidly. However, his move towards the inside was not enough to prevent contact with Gasly, which subsequently brought Norris into the incident.
"He almost stopped the car. Yeah, he made a mistake and hit his teammate and took Lando out too. I mean, he made a mistake, but it was close."
Colapinto will therefore carry a five-place grid penalty into the next race at Sepang. The incident has also renewed discussion around the balance between aggressive overtaking instincts and the risks involved when attempting to exploit opportunities during a Safety Car restart.
Baca Juga
Lando Norris menarik permintaan ban F1 untuk Franco Colapinto setelah insiden Baku. Permintaan maaf pribadi dan dampaknya bagi hubungan antar pembalap.
Charles Leclerc tanpa sengaja bocorkan spesifikasi mesin ADUO 2 Ferrari di Baku. Simak momen canggung dan dampaknya bagi performa tim.
Lando Norris meminta maaf kepada Franco Colapinto atas komentar emosional usai crash GP Azerbaijan dan mengakui tuntutan larangan balapnya keliru.
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