Debut spoiled. Colapinto crashes out during qualifying in Imola

Franco Colapinto’s Alpine debut was marred by a crash and the threat of a possible penalty. The Argentine driver had a rocky start to his first Formula 1 qualifying session. During the opening segment at Imola, he ran wide at the first chicane, touched the grass, lost control of his car, and slammed into the inside barriers. The incident triggered the second red flag stoppage of the session, following Tsunoda’s earlier crash.

On top of the crash, Colapinto could be penalized for an early entry into the fast lane, which happened during the previous red flag stoppage. The Argentine was first out of the pit lane even before official permission from the race director had been given. It turned out this was due to a miscommunication between the driver and his engineer, Josh Peckett.

Colapinto explained over team radio: “I thought I had been given the go-ahead to leave.” However, such infractions are typically punished with a drop of grid positions.