Executive Advisor for Alpine, Flavio Briatore, has shared a blunt assessment of Franco Colapinto’s incident at the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
It seemed likely to be a positive weekend for Alpine. Colapinto and his teammate Pierre Gasly secured Q3 appearances and subsequent top-10 starts for the race and were running as such when the race was truncated by an appearance from the Safety Car.
However, a bold move gone wrong from the Argentine upon the restart derailed the race for himself, Gasly and reigning World Champion Lando Norris, sending all three out of contention.
Despite taking accountability for the action and apologising to both the team and McLaren, the incident quickly became a major talking point of the weekend. Fans and drivers were divided in their comments and opinions on the move.
Crucially, the most important statement came from the big boss at Alpine, Briatore. Following the race, the Italian reflected on the situation, offering a frank assessment of Colapinto’s move that derailed the teams’ weekend.
“These sorts of incidents shouldn’t happen, particularly when we were running well with both cars,” Briatore wrote in an Instagram post.
The 76-year-old later took to social media to share a post with his candid thoughts, extending an apology to those impacted by the move. Whilst also highlighting that Colapinto rightfully took accountability for his own actions.
“I feel sorry for the team and Pierre, who did a great job all weekend. And my apologies also go to Lando [Norris] and McLaren for ruining their race.”
“I know that Franco has taken full responsibility for it. As he should.”
But as F1 heads to its next race this weekend in Malaysia, Briatore revealed Alpine were looking at the situation. The blunt nature of his comment has left many wondering whether Colapinto will take part in the next race.
“We now have to look ahead and make sure these things do not happen in the future,”
READ MORE: Lando Norris issues social media statement amid F1 crash fallout
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