Jeremy Clarkson has sparked anger among Argentine Formula 1 fans after making a joke about Franco Colapinto’s nationality and the Falkland/Malvinas Islands dispute during a live television appearance at the 2026 United States Grand Prix. The comments prompted an official response from Alpine and criticism from Franco Colapinto’s manager, Jamie Campbell-Walter.
The 66-year-old former Top Gear and The Grand Tour presenter was in the paddock at the Circuit of The Americas for the 2026 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix. Jeremy Clarkson, who recently returned to television with the sixth season of the popular Amazon Prime Video documentary series Clarkson’s Farm, was interviewed live on Sky Sports UK while discussing qualifying at the Circuit of The Americas, making several sarcastic remarks in keeping with the style that has characterised his long television career.
Jeremy Clarkson’s joke about Franco Colapinto and the Falkland/Malvinas Islands
Jeremy Clarkson specifically commented on Franco Colapinto’s result after the Alpine driver received a ten-place grid penalty for replacing the control electronics on the Mercedes power unit in his car. Apparently unaware of the actual reason behind the penalty, Jeremy Clarkson joked live on television: “Franco got a penalty for being Argentinian, probably. Or at least, I would have given him a penalty for that reason, but only because of what happened when we went over there.”
The remark referred to the long-running dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the Falkland/Malvinas Islands, including the brief war fought in 1982. The small archipelago lies off the Argentine coast but remains under British political and military control.
The sovereignty dispute has been a source of diplomatic tension and rivalry between Britain and Argentina for decades. During filming in Patagonia involving Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, the production was disrupted after members of the public in Ushuaia threw stones and eggs at the crew. The controversy centred on the Porsche 928 driven by Jeremy Clarkson, which carried the registration “H982 FKL”, interpreted in Argentina as a reference to the 1982 Falklands/Malvinas War.
Alpine officially condemns Jeremy Clarkson’s comments
Jeremy Clarkson’s remark did not go unnoticed in the Formula 1 paddock and prompted Alpine to issue a short official statement condemning the comments. Jeremy Clarkson had also been a guest of the team earlier in the day and was shown joking with Alpine team principal Flavio Briatore.
“We are aware of what a guest of our team said during a television interview here in Austin,” Alpine said in its statement. “Franco is one of our drivers and has our full support.”
Jamie Campbell-Walter, Franco Colapinto’s manager, also intervened and strongly criticised the comments made by Jeremy Clarkson.
“Jeremy Clarkson’s comments regarding Franco’s nationality are totally unacceptable. There is no place for remarks of this kind in Formula 1, regardless of who makes them or whether they were intended simply as a joke. We have worked hard to promote respect and put a stop to hostility and online abuse, but respect has to work both ways. We cannot ask people to behave responsibly and then also expect them to accept comments like this from prominent figures visiting the paddock.”
Jeremy Clarkson again at the centre of controversy
Jeremy Clarkson, who recently recovered after publicly announcing that he had undergone surgery to remove an aggressive prostate tumour, has previously attracted controversy with remarks referring to painful episodes from history.
In 2005, for example, Jeremy Clarkson caused controversy during an episode of Top Gear when he sarcastically claimed that the satellite-navigation system in the new Mini, a brand belonging to Germany’s BMW Group, “only goes to Poland”. The joke was an unmistakable reference to Nazi Germany’s invasion of Poland in 1939, the event that effectively triggered the beginning of the Second World War.
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