Franco Colapinto Adjusts Perspectiveโ on Alpine F1 Team Orders Following US Grand Prix
AUSTIN, TX – โฃAlpine Formula 1 rookieโข Franco Colapinto โhas revised his initial assessment of team orders duringโค the United States Grand โฃPrix, acknowledgingโค the strategic โคrationale behindโข the decisions despite aโข challenging weekend.โฃ Followingโ the race, Colapinto initially expressed frustration with โbeing asked โขto move aside for teammate Pierreโ Gasly, butโฃ has since offered a more nuanced perspective.
The shift in colapinto’s โขstance comes after further analysis of the race situation โคand discussionsโฃ with the alpine team. While the young driver admits struggling with car balance and limited practice time at the Circuit of the โฃAmericas, he now understands the team prioritized maximizing overall points โpotential. The incident sparkedโ debate among fans and pundits โฃregarding the balance between supporting a rookie’s advancement and achieving optimalโ team results, particularly as Alpine battles Aston Martinโ for โfifth โขin the โขConstructors’ Championship.โฃ
“It was โคa challenging weekend in Austin where I struggled a lot with the โคcar,” Colapinto stated. “Having just one โpractice โคsession,the tricky conditions andโ notโ being able โtoโข find the right โbalance all played into a โคtough weekend on my side.”
Colapinto emphasized the needโ for a deeperโ understanding of the โcar’s โคperformance issues. โฃ”We need to understand more closely why we โstruggled so muchโค with the car โand work to fix this goingโข forward, even if โฃwe know we’re in for a toughโ end to theโ year with the package we have.”
The team’sโ decisionโข to instruct Colapinto to allow Gasly throughโ was made with several laps remaining, as Gasly was on a different tire strategyโข and deemed to have a faster race pace. Alpineโฃ is currently fifth in the Constructors’ standings with 89 points, 12 ahead of Aston Martin with three races remaining in the 2023โฃ season. โTheโค outcome of this championship battle could substantially โคimpact the team’s resources andโ development direction forโค 2024.
Additional reporting by โRonald Vording
