Franco Colapinto, USA News (Buenos Aires / Mexico City): The Argentine driver had managed to equal his second-best result of the season with a seventh-place finish at the Formula 1 Mexican Grand Prix, though a post-race sanction stripped him of the points. According to Noticias Argentinas, the driver was penalized for failing to reduce speed in a sector featuring a yellow flag, resulting in a 10-second penalty and dropping him to the back of the grid.
The sanction also extended to his Alpine teammate, French driver Pierre Gasly, leaving the constructor with zero points after initially securing eight. In Formula 1, races are frequently decided off the asphalt as race direction takes time to investigate situations hours after the checkered flag.
FIA Official Bulletin and Telemetry Evidence
According to the official FIA bulletin, the driver from Pilar did not sufficiently decrease his speed while traversing a track sector under a yellow flag. Despite a strong start and error-free race, the 10-second penalty erased his points. The governing body determined he had enough time to lower his gear upon learning of the yellow flag. Although Colapinto and the Alpine team presented telemetry and photographic evidence in their defense, they did not satisfy the stewards.
Final Standings and Appeal Possibility
Consequently, his final position at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez circuit dropped to fifteenth, removing the six points he had originally secured. Meanwhile, Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar finished ninth and Haas debutant Ryo Hirakawa took tenth, promoting them into the points zone. Alpine retains the option to appeal the FIA ruling, leaving it to the team to decide whether to contest the penalty.
