Alpine F1 publish unique 11-page letter over Franco Colapinto ‘sabotage’ accusations
Four days after the last race in China, Alpine have released a letter condemning social media abuse of drivers after recent incidents – as well as rubbishing claims of ‘sabotage’ against Colapinto as ‘completely unfounded’
Alpine ’s F1 team have published a unique 11-page letter on Thursday after accusations of “sabotage” towards their driver Franco Colapinto on social media. The letter, released four days after the last F1 race in China, also condemns social media abuse of 22-year-old Colapinto and Haas driver Esteban Ocon in recent weeks. Last year, fans of Argentine driver Colapinto were lambasted after Yuki Tsunoda received death threats following an incident between the pair at Imola.
French driver Ocon was on the receiving end of similar abuse online after an incident at round two this year in China. The letter also refers to claims made on social media that the team have prioritised Pierre Gasly over Colapinto so far this season. While Gasly is on 15 points, Colapinto has scored just one point.
“The team would like to clarify the concern of some fans regarding parity between both our cars,” the letter, which was posted over 11 slides on Instagram, read. “The team endeavours to put the two fastest cars on track and provide equal opportunity for both drivers to be competitive and score important points for the team in the championship. “In some instances, given the need to fast-track parts and carefully manage the manufacturing process, the team is only able to bring select parts or upgrades to some events.
However, this is never the intended or desired approach, as, if the part is a performance upgrade as we hope and intend, then we want it available on both cars immediately. “This has remained the case this year and both Pierre and Franco have been running with the same equipment, barring some small low-performance impacting parts in China, due to switching gearbox components. Franco is our driver and the team has placed its trust in him, just as he has with the team.