Franco Colapinto Opens Up About Gabriel Bortoleto’s Crash at 2025 Brazil GP

The 2025 Brazil Grand Prix proved to be a challenging weekend for Gabriel Bortoleto. The home favorite faced a series of setbacks, including a crash in the sprint race, the inability to participate in qualifying, and another crash during the main race. As the dust settled, Alpine driver Franco Colapinto brought renewed attention to the incident, pointing fingers at Lance Stroll for causing Bortoleto’s crash in São Paulo.

Speaking to the media, Colapinto shared his perspective on the incident:
“Stroll is just always taking people out, just not looking in the mirrors, leaving no track, and he put Gabi in the wall. I overtook two cars—it was Lewis [Hamilton] and Colapinto on the outside of turn six,” Bortoleto had recalled earlier.

Colapinto elaborated on the collision:
“It was a nice move. Then Lance, I was just side by side with him out of turn nine. There’s no pointing fingers here. It was just lap one, and I was on the outside. He opened a little bit more than there was space. He clipped my front tyre, and I ended up in the wall.”

He added, “I think it’s a racing incident. Obviously, if he had given a bit more space, I would have taken the corner and probably overtaken him because he had worse tyres than I did—I was on softs. But again, it’s a racing incident. He didn’t do it on purpose, I’m sure. Every time I fight with him, he’s fair with me. So it’s just racing.”

On lap one, Bortoleto struggled to find grip and track position while attempting an outside overtaking maneuver. Lance Stroll blocked his path, leading to contact between Stroll’s left rear tyre and Bortoleto’s front tyre. This caused Bortoleto to lose control and crash into the barrier. Despite the severity of the incident, Colapinto emphasized that it was a racing incident rather than a deliberate collision.

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Franco Colapinto Reflects on Securing 2026 Alpine Seat

Following the Brazil GP, Alpine confirmed that Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly will remain with the team for the 2026 season. This decision maintains the same driver lineup as the current year.

Colapinto expressed his gratitude and optimism for the future:
“I am very grateful to Flavio and the entire team for their belief in me to help drive the team forwards in the future. It has been a long and tough road, and I am very proud for the opportunity to drive with this team again in 2026, alongside Pierre who has been a great teammate and undoubtedly someone I can continue to learn from.”

So far this season, after 21 races and five sprint events, Colapinto has yet to score points. Meanwhile, teammate Pierre Gasly sits 18th in the standings with 22 points. Alpine currently holds 10th place in the Constructors’ Championship with a total of 22 points.

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*Edited by Sabyasachi Biswas*
https://www.sportskeeda.com/f1/news-franco-colapinto-lashes-serial-offender-lance-stroll-taking-out-gabriel-bortoleto-f1-brazilian-gp