** Franco Colapinto accuses Alpine of Sabotage after the Barcelona GP **
The Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix, held at the Barcelona-Cataluña Circuit, left a bitter taste for the Argentine pilot Franco Colapinto, who, after a weekend plagued by mechanical problems, broke the silence and pointed to his team, Alpine, for what he considers a possible sabotage. The 22 -year -old, in his third career with the French team, faced a series of technical inconveniences that committed their performance and unleashed speculations in the paddock and social networks.
The weekend began badly for Colapinto. During the first free practice (FP1), a hydraulic leak caused a fire principle in the rear of its A525 car, forcing it to leave the session ahead of time. Despite the repairs, the Argentine ended up in both practices on Friday, without finding the necessary rhythm to compete in a circuit that knows well. In Saturday’s classification, things seemed to improve, since Colapinto achieved a promising ninth provisional position in Q1. However, a transmission problem prevented him from completing his last quick lap, relegating it to the 19th place on the output grid.
In Sunday’s race, Colapinto went back to 15th place, surpassing Esteban Ocon and taking advantage of a penalty of Oliver Bearman. However, the rhythm of his Alpine was inconsistently slow, with problems of tire degradation and difficulties in keeping the passage in dirty air. After crossing the goal, the Argentine expressed his frustration: “I do not understand what happened. It was a complicated race, with a lot of degradation. We could not control the tires well.” His engineer, Stuart Barlow, apologized on radio, admitting that the team should investigate the failures: “I think we need to apologize to you, companion. There is a job to do.”
The statements of Colapinto, added to social networks publications, lit the controversy. Some users in X speculated on a possible sabotage linked to Alpine’s decision to replace Jack Doohan with the Argentine, suggesting that certain sectors of the team could be favoring the Australian. A post in X said: “All looks are in the collapint car. The world of F1 speaks of sabotage of relatives to Doohan.” Although these accusations lack solid evidence, they reflect the discontent of fans with the performance of the team.
For his part, Alpine issued a statement in which he explained the technical failures, attributing them to transmission problems and a hydraulic leak, but did not respond directly to the accusations of sabotage. The team also published a message of support to Colapinto: “Go ahead, Franco. We will achieve it, learning together as a team.” Meanwhile, the Argentine prepares for the Canada GP, where he hopes to leave this episode behind and consolidate in formula 1.
With only three races in Alpine, Colapinto faces a crucial challenge: to demonstrate his talent in a team that struggles to get out of the bottom of the Construction Championship. Can you overcome adversities and silence criticism? The world of motor racing awaits answers.
