Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto lost their points from the Mexico City Grand Prix after stewards hit both Alpine drivers with post-race penalties for failing to slow under yellow flags. Colapinto had crossed the line eighth and Gasly 10th, but neither result stood once the penalties were applied, according to Formula1.com.
The decision erased what had briefly looked like a double points finish for Alpine in a race won by Max Verstappen, with Lewis Hamilton second and Kimi Antonelli third, according to ESPN.
The Main Development
Colapinto was given a 10-second penalty for not slowing in a single yellow flag sector. Gasly received a stop-and-go penalty, a more severe sanction, for failing to slow under a double yellow flag. Both infractions came under the same category of offense: yellow flag violations, but Gasly’s came in a zone where caution rules are stricter because of the elevated double yellow warning.
The penalties also carried consequences beyond the race result. Colapinto picked up one penalty point on his Super Licence, while Gasly was assessed two points, reflecting the more serious nature of a double yellow infringement compared to a single yellow one.
What It Means
With both Alpine cars dropped from the classification, Isack Hadjar and Ryo Hirakawa moved up to ninth and 10th place respectively in the final results, according to Formula1.com. That reshuffling means the point or points Colapinto and Gasly would have scored instead went to other teams entirely, though the exact scoring changes to Alpine’s tally were not detailed in the published results.
The swing is notable given how close the finishing order was. A double yellow infringement by one driver and a single yellow infringement by his teammate, in the same race, is an unusual pairing of penalties for one team to absorb in one weekend.
Context
Colapinto’s provisional eighth-place finish had been his best result since the Spanish Grand Prix, a sign of form Alpine will want to build on even though the points did not survive scrutiny. Formula1.com described the pair as having managed the 71-lap race well before the post-race penalties wiped away what had appeared to be a hard-fought result for the team.
Colapinto has been a frequent subject of outside scrutiny this season, including an appeal over fan abuse and the fallout from an apology tied to a one-race ban call. The Mexico City weekend added a different kind of setback, one decided entirely by stewards after the checkered flag.
What’s Next
Verstappen had already made headlines in Mexico City by taking pole before a grid penalty, as detailed by The Race and RacingNews365 ahead of the race, and went on to win it outright. Antonelli’s third-place finish in that same race made him F1’s youngest world champion, according to ESPN, adding historical weight to a weekend that also produced the Alpine penalties. Alpine’s focus now shifts to the remaining rounds of the season as the team looks to convert strong pace into points that hold up under review.
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