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Alpine penalties hand Hirakawa points on F1 debut in Mexico
Post-race yellow-flag penalties demote Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto, lifting Haas debutant Ryo Hirakawa into the Mexico GP points.
Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto have lost their points finishes after post-race penalties at the Mexico City Grand Prix, opening the door for Haas debutant Ryo Hirakawa to score on his Formula 1 debut.
Both Alpine drivers were investigated by the stewards for not slowing sufficiently under yellow flags. Colapinto had provisionally finished eighth, with Gasly in 10th, but the revised classification pushed them down to 15th and 17th respectively.
Separate yellow-flag penalties send Alpine down the order
Gasly received a stop-and-go penalty for failing to slow enough under double-waved yellows. The sanction was converted into a 30-second penalty after the race. Colapinto was given a 10-second penalty for his failure to slow under single-waved yellows.
The stewards also examined Colapinto’s response in a double-yellow sector, but did not find a breach there. They concluded there was enough uncertainty about whether he had been given adequate warning to comply.
The two Alpine penalties were not the only changes to the points positions. Oscar Piastri received a post-race 10-second penalty following contact with Arvid Lindblad, removing him from the points-paying places as well.
Hirakawa takes the final point as the order reshuffles
The penalties promoted Liam Lawson to seventh, the position Piastri had held provisionally. Gabriel Bortoleto moved into eighth from outside the points, while Isack Hadjar rose from 12th to ninth. Hirakawa completed the top 10 to claim the final point for Haas.
Hirakawa had been called up late by Haas after the team chose to bench Esteban Ocon on Friday night, for reasons not specified in the report. The Mexico race was the Japanese driver’s first Formula 1 start. Read more about Hirakawa’s path to his Haas debut and Haas’s decision to replace Ocon for the rest of the Mexico GP.
The final result gives Hirakawa a points finish on debut, while both Alpine drivers leave the event outside the top 10 after the post-race decisions. The reshuffle also puts Lawson, Bortoleto and Hadjar higher in the classification than their provisional positions.