Lance Stroll attracts fresh criticism after ‘mirrors not aligned’ jab

Franco Colapinto took fresh aim at Lance Stroll following an incident involving Stroll and Gabriel Bortoleto early in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Colapinto had been left upset after his encounter with Stroll in Mexico, one which led to him quipping that Stroll’s mirrors were “not properly aligned” on his Aston Martin. The criticism continued after Stroll’s incident with Bortoleto two weeks on, though Bortoleto left the finger-pointing to Colapinto.

Franco Colapinto on Lance Stroll: ‘Always taking people out’

It was on the opening lap of the Mexican Grand Prix that Colapinto went spinning, having dipped his right side wheels onto the grass. He blamed that very much on Stroll in the Aston Martin.

“He pushed me onto the grass,” Colapinto told DAZN. “Stroll never looks in his mirrors. It seems like they’re not properly aligned on his car — I have no idea where he’s looking when he checks them.

“He always does the same thing.”

Skip forward to Brazil, and this time it was Bortoleto in the Sauber who ended up on the grass, as he took a look around the outside of Stroll at T10.

Bortoleto spun and nosed into the barriers. Breaking a steering arm on his Sauber, it spelt race over. It was a bitter conclusion to what was a bruising first home race weekend for the F1 rookie, who thankfully emerged unscathed from his massive 91G Sprint crash.

Colapinto used the Stroll and Bortoleto incident to pick up where he left off in Mexico.

“Stroll is always taking people out, just not looking in the mirrors,” Colapinto told the media.

“He put Gabi in the wall, it’s what he does every time.”

Key F1 2025 stats via PlanetF1.com

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

Bortoleto was less willing to apportion blame, and suggested that Stroll is always “fair” when they meet on track.

“It was a good start. It was nice. I overtook two cars with Lewis [Hamilton] and Colapinto in the outside of [Turn] 6. It was a nice move,” Bortoleto began.

“And then Lance, I was just side by side with him out of [Turn] 9. There’s no pointing fingers here. I think, just Lap 1 and I was in the outside, he opened a little bit more than what there was of space there, he clipped my front tyre, and I ended up in the wall. I think it’s a racing incident.

“Obviously, if he had given a bit more space, I would have done the corner, probably overtaken him because he had worse tyres than I had, because I was on softs. But again, it’s a racing incident. He didn’t do it on purpose. I’m sure, every time I fight with him, he’s fair with me. So, just racing.”

Read next: Adrian Newey in ‘design trance’ as F1 2026 prospects raised