Franco Colapinto backtracks on team orders stance – but did he need to?

Franco Colapinto has backed down from his stance around Alpine’s team orders at the weekend, saying “instructions by the team must always be followed no matter what.”

The Argentine driver defied an order to hold position behind Pierre Gasly late in the United States Grand Prix, initially believing it was the right thing for him to do as Gasly was slower, but he has now walked back on those comments.

Franco Colapinto walks back team order defiance comments

Battling over 17th place on Sunday, Colapinto wanted to make his way past Alpine teammate Gasly to escape the challenge from Gabriel Bortoleto behind.

In passing his Alpine colleague, he attracted a rebuke from new managing director Steve Nielsen, who said after the race: “Any instruction made by the pit wall is final and today we are disappointed that this didn’t happen.

“It’s something we will review and deal with internally.”

Colapinto himself was of the belief he was in the right, managing to keep himself ahead of Bortoleto in 17th at the chequered flag.

He told media including PlanetF1.com afterwards: “We had quite a bit more pace than Pierre in the last stint and had Bortoleto really close behind, attacking very hard.

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“He was much quicker than us and it was holding me up with how slow Pierre was going. I think it was the best for the situation to have me in front.

“We swapped positions a lot of times this year and they also let us race in other tracks.

“I think here for this event, I was attacked very heavily by Bortoleto. It was probably the best to have me in front, otherwise we were going to get both overtaken.

“We just need to analyse and come with all the data and analyse every moment of the race.”

Now, though, in the lead-up to the Mexico City Grand Prix, it is clear Alpine’s internal discussions have taken place, with the team’s press release including comments from Colapinto that see him fall back into line with the team’s perspective.

“The team situation on Sunday has been discussed internally and it is clear that instructions by the team must always be followed no matter what,” he said.

“We are all together, and we are all working towards the same goal to keep getting better with each session and each race weekend.”

Was it right for Franco Colapinto to change his view on US Grand Prix team orders?

Well, as with any point of contention, there are two sides to it.

With Alpine having a new de facto team principal in Nielsen, it is reasonable to expect him to want team orders to be followed, not only to stamp his authority on proceedings, but to show that the team comes before the driver in any given scenario – whether it’s for first or 17th on the road.

On the other hand, though, it was for 17th place. Had the Alpine duo been fighting for podium positions or otherwise, the context would have made Colapinto’s move more egregious and consequential than it was.

For Colapinto, it is no secret that he is fighting for his seat beyond the end of the year, so when he had the opportunity to pass his teammate, it’s understandable why he would want to take any chance to put his best foot forward.

After a rocky start with Alpine, Colapinto has matched up reasonably well against Gasly overall, trailing 8-5 in Alpine’s qualifying head-to-head and 7-6 in race trim.

Although he is the only current driver not to have scored a point this season, not that scoring points has come especially easily for Alpine, that record against a driver with Gasly’s experience suggests he is capable of matching him on a regular basis.

That has not stopped questions over next season, however, with reserve driver Paul Aron waiting in the wings for a potential opportunity to step up to Formula 1. Indeed, he’s set to replace Gasly of the opening hour of practice in Mexico.

Typically, there aren’t many storylines to emerge from Friday’s FP1 sessions, but with Aron and Colapinto sharing the same track in the same spec of car, seeing how the young Estonian matches up to the incumbent seat-holder will be fascinating.

It makes sense for Colapinto to now tow the company line after internal discussions, but when his place in Formula 1 next year is not yet confirmed, it also makes sense to showcase himself next to Gasly – even if that means putting himself before the team.

Additional reporting by Elizabeth Blackstock

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