Franco Colapinto’s race at Zandvoort looked promising. Although Alpine had brought upgrades only for Pierre Gasly’s car, his teammate—the Argentine—was running tenth after the first lap, inside the points. But then a severe penalty spoiled everything: a ‘Drive Through’, i.e., a pass through the pits without stopping. The reason: not lifting with a yellow flag.
The stewards ruled that Colapinto did not lift off enough on the main straight during Max Verstappen’s crash, which was leaving the track partially blocked. An extremely harsh penalty that enraged the Argentine. For Colapinto, the FIA stewards do not have enough judgementto make these decisions.
A ‘Drive Through’ Ruined Colapinto’s Race
Max Verstappen’s crash was the tensest moment of the race at Zandvoort. The Dutch driver crashed on the main straight, partially blocking the track. Some drivers like Gabriel Bortoleto skidded while trying to avoid him. Others avoided the crash by sheer luck. It could have been much worse, yet the FIA weighed in on the matter.
According to the FIA, Franco Colapinto and Arvid Lindblad overtook with yellow flags past Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly respectively. And they decided to punish both drivers with a ‘Drive Through’, a pit-lane pass-through that must be completed in under three laps, sending them to the back of the grid and wrecking their races.
After the race, Colapinto lashed out at the stewards: “It was far more dangerous to slam on the brakes in the middle of the straight than to do what I did. They could be much more flexible. Sometimes I think they lack a bit of judgement,” the Argentine said. And indeed, according to the FIA, with a line of cars coming at speed and the track partially blocked, the best option was for the car in tenth to brake.
Colapinto says the penalty “has compromised my entire race. It has been quite unfair, very hard, extremely hard. The penalty has been very harsh given the conditions that existed. While rules are rules, there is also room for some margin and flexibility.” The Argentine tried to claw back, but could only finish fourteenth.
And the story did not end with the ‘Drive Through’. In the second half of the race Colapinto received another penalty, this time 10 seconds for not lifting enough of the throttle under yellow. Additionally, after the race the FIA took away two points from his super licence for the overtake on Tsunoda.
In fact, the FIA acknowledges that this kind of incident is normally punished with a 10-second Stop & Go, but this time they were more lenient due to the complexity of the situation.
Images | Alpine
