Lance Stroll has fired back at Franco Colapinto’s public criticism towards his wheel-to-wheel racing in Formula 1, urging him to “focus on scoring a point”.
During F1’s last outing in Brazil, there was contact on the opening lap between Stroll and Gabriel Bortoleto, who retired from his debut outing on home soil.
Colapinto, who was close behind, witnessed the battle and believed the Canadian in the Aston Martin was at fault for the incident.
Post-race, the Alpine driver went on a frustrated tirade about the incident, alleging that Stroll is “”always taking people out, just not looking in the mirrors, leaving no [space].”
However, Stroll was quick to bite back on media day in Las Vegas. The Aston Martin driver was asked about his opinions on Colapinto’s comments, and he didn’t hold back.
“I heard about it. I don’t know. Maybe he’s frustrated and angry with life,” Stroll told media including Motorsport Week.
“I don’t know how many points he has in the championship. I can’t tell you.”
Stroll did not stop there; in fact, he asked reporters how many points Colapinto has in the championship, to which he was told he languishes in 20th with zero points.
“Zero? He has zero points. He should probably focus on his own things and try and score some points at some point this year,” he remarked.
Stroll also doubled down on his on-track actions at Interlagos, pointing out that he received no penalty for the contact with Bortoleto, whom he has since spoken to.
“I’m racing. I didn’t get a penalty in Brazil or anything. I spoke with Gabriel after the race. Probably Franco should focus on scoring a point or something this year.”
Colapinto clarifies Stroll criticism
Despite his fiery comments, Colapinto has reapproached the situation with a calmer attitude, highlighting that the comments had been in the “heat of the moment”.
“I think you’re seeing a heat of the moment after the race,” Colapinto explained.
“So the incident with Gabriel – I was just behind, and I just saw the moment. But of course, sorry if it affected him, of course.
“I was in the heat [of the moment] after the race, and yeah, hopefully it’s all good between us.”
Colapinto also clarified that the pair had battled each other closely throughout the season, indicating his analysis was not personal or part of a long-term dispute.
“We’ve been spending a lot of time together on track in the races. We’ve been very close to each other, and we had some close fights,” he concluded.
READ MORE – Franco Colapinto blasts Lance Stroll for ‘always taking people out’ after F1 Brazil GP incident
Discussion about this post