- Briatore said Alpine lost valuable points after Colapinto hit teammate Pierre Gasly at Turn 1.
- Colapinto accepted responsibility, but Briatore called the mistake unacceptable for a driver with his experience.
- The Argentine will lose five grid positions at the Bahrain Grand Prix after retiring before he could serve a ten-second penalty.
Flavio Briatore did not hide his frustration with Franco Colapinto after the multi-car accident at Saturday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The Alpine executive said he was “extremely disappointed” and would consider what measures the team should take following a collision that eliminated both its drivers.
Colapinto misjudged the braking point for Turn 1 at the restart after the Safety Car period on Lap 35. Unable to slow his Alpine sufficiently, he struck teammate Pierre Gasly, whose car then became involved in the accident with McLaren’s Lando Norris. All three drivers retired. Before the collision, Colapinto and Gasly had been running in positions from which Alpine could fight for points in the Constructors’ Championship.
“Obviously, I’m extremely disappointed with the outcome of today’s race, knowing we lost valuable points in the championship fight,” Briatore said. “This kind of incident should not happen, especially when both cars were in positions to score points and we had been showing good performance.”
Colapinto apologised after the race, taking responsibility for the collision and saying sorry to Alpine, Gasly, Norris and McLaren. Briatore acknowledged that admission but said Colapinto had enough Formula 1 experience to avoid the mistake at a restart.
“I know Franco has taken full responsibility for what happened, as he should,” Briatore said. “He braked far too late considering the race situation and the restart after the Safety Car. It was a badly misjudged move for a driver with his experience.”
Briatore said Alpine would examine the incident before deciding how to proceed. “I want to take some time to reflect on what happened and consider what measures should be taken, so that we can learn from this and prevent something similar from happening again in the future,” he added. Alpine has not announced a specific internal measure.
The stewards held Colapinto responsible and imposed a ten-second time penalty. Because he retired and could not serve it, the sanction was converted into a five-place grid drop for the next round, the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Norris also reacted strongly, calling for a suspension over the incident. Max Verstappen and George Russell considered that punishment excessive, although both agreed Colapinto had made a serious mistake. The Azerbaijan Grand Prix ended with Russell’s victory, just 0.196s ahead of Verstappen.
F1 today: FAQ
Who leads the 2026 F1 championship after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix?
Kimi Antonelli leads with 302 points. George Russell is second on 236, leaving a 66-point gap after Baku.
Who won the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix?
George Russell won for Mercedes, ahead of Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar.
Which team leads the 2026 F1 Constructors’ Championship?
Mercedes leads with 538 points, 160 ahead of Ferrari.
What did Briatore say about Colapinto’s Baku crash?
Briatore said he was “extremely disappointed” that Alpine had lost a chance to score points with both cars. He said the team would consider measures after reviewing the incident.
