Colapinto says Clarkson’s Argentina remark was ‘not the best’

Franco Colapinto said Jeremy Clarkson’s comment about giving him a penalty for being Argentine was “not the best” situation, while stressing that the remarks had nothing to do with Alpine.

Clarkson made the comment on Saturday in Austin, where he was attending as a guest of the team. He linked his joke to events during a 2014 Top Gear visit to Argentina, when the crew fled across the border to Chile after locals took offence at the number plate on Clarkson’s Porsche. The plate was later shown to have been issued with the car from new, rather than chosen by the crew as a reference to the Falklands War.

Alpine and Colapinto distance the team from the remark

Alpine said Clarkson’s comments were his personal views and did not reflect the team’s commitment to kindness and respect. It also affirmed its support for Colapinto. The driver’s management separately described the remark as unacceptable.

Colapinto said he had not watched much of what Clarkson said and did not know him well. He understood the comments had come from an interview of Clarkson’s own, and said he would try to “focus on ourselves” rather than let the episode distract the team.

The driver added that improving the situation would require help from many people, not only him. He has also recently called for an end to online abuse, including abuse directed at other drivers by some of his fans.

F1LivePulse has covered other Colapinto penalty stories, including a yellow-flag infringement in Barcelona and a five-place penalty after a Baku collision.

Austin retirement followed contact and damage

Colapinto’s United States Grand Prix ended after 35 laps because of a power-unit issue. He also said his car was damaged in an incident as Pierre came out of the pits. Colapinto was defending while the drivers ran three abreast, and said he was caught in the middle.

He added that traffic had already made for a difficult race. His focus now, he said, was to return stronger in Mexico and finish races. Colapinto has discussed the demands of adapting to Formula 1 in his account of the sport’s learning curve.