Alpine’s Argentine driver Franco Colapinto analyzed the maneuver that triggered Oliver Bearman’s crash into the barriers, which left the British driver with a knee contusion after exiting the car.
Triple points finish for Alpine
After the second practice session at the Japanese Grand Prix, Pierre Gasly had perfectly calculated how qualifying might unfold, despite being 14th: “Only a couple of tenths separate 7th from 15th.” Not surprisingly, the Frenchman secured a fourth-row starting position and ultimately finished the race in 7th.
This result confirmed Gasly’s strong form this season. Since the start of 2026, he has consistently scored points, with the sole exception of the Sprint race in China. “It was a really intense race from start to finish, and I’m very happy with seventh place and the points for the championship,” the French driver commented. “It was a great race, very well managed by the team. It felt like there were two distinct phases, before and after the Safety Car. Considering what we’ve seen this season, the races have been quite eventful, so we probably expected a Safety Car or Virtual Safety Car at some point. In the first part of the race, we were building a good gap to the cars behind. Then, after the Safety Car, we had to defend from Max [Verstappen], who applied a lot of pressure for 25 laps. We had to fight hard, and it’s not easy against a four-time world champion, so I’m happy we held our position and secured valuable points. It was a positive weekend for the team, and we’re not too far from some of the faster teams ahead. The car has a solid base, so we need to stay motivated and keep working hard to catch up to those in front.”
Colapinto at the center of controversy
Outside the top 10 was Gasly’s teammate Franco Colapinto. More than his 16th-place finish, the Argentine made headlines for the maneuver that caused Oliver Bearman’s violent crash into the barriers, from which the British driver walked away with only a knee contusion despite the 50G impact.
Near the Spoon Curve, Colapinto slowed suddenly and shifted left just as Bearman’s Haas approached at roughly 80 km/h faster. Bearman managed to dodge the Alpine but ran onto the grass, losing complete control of the car. Colapinto reflected on the incident: “It was a very long and frustrating race today, where we spent a lot of time following another car’s rear wing. We had a great start and gained a position on the first lap, running close to both VCARB cars and within striking distance of points. We reacted and pitted to cover Ollie [Bearman] and managed to stay ahead. I was racing with him for a few laps, and suddenly I saw him slide in front of me on the grass at Spoon Curve. After watching the footage, there was a big speed difference, which can be a feature of these cars, and I’m really glad he’s okay. The Safety Car came out afterwards, which was unfortunate for us and meant we lost positions. It’s a shame because we were in the mix with Liam [Lawson] and others before that, and those I was racing with ended up in the points. Ultimately, we need a stronger Saturday to put ourselves in a better position for the race. Now we’ll use the mid-season break to work hard at Enstone and come back stronger in Miami.”
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