Franco Colapinto achieved his best Formula 1 finish so far despite a frightening moment when he struck the wall exiting the pit lane.
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The Alpine driver slid into a barrier on the outside of turn two after a pit stop during a Virtual Safety Car period and initially feared the impact had ended his race.
“I crashed, I fucking crashed!” Colapinto said over the radio. “Idiot.”
Despite the alarm, the contact caused only minor damage and, with the race neutralised, he lost little time. Colapinto recovered to finish sixth, marking both the best finish of his F1 career and matching Alpine’s strongest result of the season so far.
After the race Colapinto admitted he feared he had ruined his chances when the car hit the wall.
“The track was very slippery and had extremely low grip, especially at the start and in the opening laps on the harder compound compared with many around us,” he explained. Colapinto had begun the race on the medium tyre.
“I also had a scary moment leaving the pits after my stop. I hit a wet patch, then ran onto the white line and drifted toward the wall. Fortunately I struck the barrier side-on and escaped with only minor damage that didn’t require repairs or affect performance.”
Team-mate Pierre Gasly finished eighth, giving Alpine their highest combined points total of the season to date.
“Considering where we started the weekend, delivering a double points finish for the team is a fantastic result and well deserved for everyone who has worked so hard,” Colapinto said. “It’s also my best result in Formula 1, which makes me very happy and builds on the performance we showed in Miami.”
He added that while the team benefited from others’ misfortune, they made the most of the opportunity.
“We know we benefited from others’ issues, and that’s never a pleasant way to gain positions, but we maximised everything we could and brought the car home.”
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