Colapinto warned of ‘internal’ consequences after ‘disappointing’ Alpine

Ignoring Alpine’s clear instruction to hold station behind Pierre Gasly at the United States Grand Prix, Franco Colapinto is facing an “internal” review as Alpine’s word is final.

It comes at a time when the Argentinean driver is fighting to secured his future with the Formula 1 team.

Franco Colapinto ignored Alpine instructions: All you need to know

⦁ Franco Colapinto was ordered to ‘hold positions’ behind Pierre Gasly, and ignored it
⦁ Colapinto defended his actions as it was ‘best for the situation to have me in front’
⦁ Colapinto is racing for his F1 future

Lacking the pace to challenge for a points finish at the Circuit of the Americas, Gasly and Colapinto were running 17th and 19th in Sunday’s grand prix with only Gabriel Bortoleto behind them on the track.

Colapinto, despite having better pace, was told by his race engineer Stuart Barlow to stay behind Gasly as the teammates began the final three laps of the 56-lap race.

Barlow: Okay, both cars are managing here so we just need to hold positions please.

Cola: Hold what? Hold positions? Wait, he’s slow.

Team orders turns into an intra-team battle! ⚔️👀

Franco Colapinto passes Pierre Gasly with an audacious overtake on his team mate 🔀#F1 #USGP pic.twitter.com/ZKxR4TOPjX

— Formula 1 (@F1) October 20, 2025

Colapinto ignored the message and muscled his way through on the inside of Gasly, the two almost touching wheels, as he nabbed 17th place from his teammate at Turn 1.

The 22-year-old stood by his decision when he spoke with the media, including PlanetF1.com, after the grand prix.

“We had quite a bit more pace than Pierre in the last stint,” Colapinto said, “and had Bortoleto really close behind, attacking very hard.

“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.”

He added: “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 Bortoletto. 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.”

Talking points from the United States Grand Prix

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👉 Winners and losers from the 2025 United States Grand Prix

Franco Colapinto has yet to learn his Alpine fate

Alpine, however, wasn’t impressed.

Alpine managing director Steve Nielsen said as per 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.”

At a time when Colapinto has yet to be confirmed by Alpine, despite numerous reports claiming it is just a matter of time, the Argentine has irked Nielsen, although it may be just the attitude that de facto team boss Flavio Briatore wants.

In charge of the likes of Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso as they won titles in the early 1990s, Briatore has a somewhat circumspect reputation in Formula 1 and Colapinto’s antics may appeal to that.

A do-or-die attitude could be just what secures the 22-year-old a spot at Alpine for the F1 2026 season.

It’s understood Alpine is only looking at internal options for 2026 with Colapinto, Jack Doohan and Paul Aron in the running.

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Additional reporting by Elizabeth Blackstock

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