Breaking:FIA announce penalty verdict after embarrassing in…read more
FIA announce penalty verdict after embarrassing in…read more
The FIA has officially issued a penalty to Franco Colapint following a misjudged pit lane release during qualifying for the Imola Grand Prix. The young Argentine driver, newly promoted to a full-time seat with Alpine, was involved in an incident that saw him enter the fast lane of the pit lane prematurely, before the session had officially resumed. This mistake came during a red flag delay in Q1 caused by a crash from Yuki Tsunoda.
According to the FIA’s investigation, the 21-year-old misunderstood a team instruction and entered the pit lane earlier than permitted, breaching Article 12.2.1 i) of the International Sporting Code, as well as the race director’s event notes. Although the error was not intentional, the governing body determined that a sporting penalty was appropriate given the procedural violation.
The issue stemmed from a miscommunication between Colapinto and his race engineer. The Alpine team later clarified that the instruction given was for the car to “creep out” of the garage, preparing to join the session once the restart was announced. However, Colapinto misinterpreted the message and entered the fast lane before the session had officially restarted. The team admitted that once Colapinto had crossed the pit line, it was too late to halt his progress, and they instructed him to continue down the pit lane.
While Alpine argued that the incident provided no competitive advantage — since other teams still had sufficient time to complete their run plans — the stewards ruled that the procedural breach still warranted disciplinary action. Both Colapinto and a team representative attended the hearing with the stewards and expressed regret for the misstep, characterizing the violation as a misunderstanding rather than a deliberate attempt to gain an edge.
The FIA’s statement acknowledged the unintentional nature of the incident but emphasized the importance of maintaining procedural discipline. “The stewards considered that the breach was inadvertent but it did require a sporting penalty to be imposed,” the statement read. “However, as the breach was unintentional and did not result in any sporting advantage, we decided to impose a one-position grid penalty.”
The ruling serves as a warning to teams and drivers that even minor misinterpretations of protocol can carry consequences. The FIA added that similar breaches in the future, particularly if they result in a performance gain, could lead to harsher penalties.
It has been a turbulent debut weekend for Colapinto, who was recently promoted to Alpine’s main lineup after the team decided to replace Jack Doohan just six races into the 2025 season. Unfortunately, Colapinto’s qualifying session worsened further when he crashed at the Tamburello corner, bringing out another red flag and ending his session early.
Originally qualifying 15th, the penalty means Colapinto will start Sunday’s Grand Prix from 16th on the grid, capping a disappointing start to his full-time Formula 1 career.
