Ahead of the 2026 F1 Miami Grand Prix, Franco Colapinto responded to Ollie Bearman’s comments regarding the crash they were involved in at the Japanese GP.
The 50G crash at the Japanese Grand Prix
The incident between Colapinto and Bearman at the Japanese Grand Prix was a clear example of how extreme closing speeds under the 2026 F1 regulations can easily lead to disasters.
As both drivers headed toward the Spoon Curve, Bearman was rapidly closing on Colapinto while the Argentinian driver was experiencing an energy deficit. This created a dangerous speed differential of roughly 45 to 50 km/h between the two cars.
Unaware of the extreme speed difference, the Argentinian driver was moving a bit left. Since Bearman was closing so quickly, he took sudden evasive action to avoid rear-ending the Alpine in front of him. As a result, he crashed into the barriers in a heavy 50G impact and significantly damaged his Haas.
The crash was noted, with no penalty issued to Colapinto. Nevertheless, Bearman commented about the incident, arguing that he didn’t leave him enough space with his “unacceptable” defensive move.
Colapinto’s response ahead of the 2026 Miami GP
Alpine driver Colapinto was not happy with Bearman’s comments. In a print media session ahead of the 2026 F1 Miami GP, Colapinto defended his driving, claiming he never moved aggressively.
The Argentinian driver stated that he texted the Brit immediately after the incident to make sure that he was okay. However, Bearman never replied to Colapinto’s message. Nevertheless, he emphasized that what is important in all of this is the Haas driver’s well-being.
“I already spoke about it. I think the most important thing is that he was okay. I’m not going to comment too much about it.
“After the race I sent him straight away a message. He never responded, so he didn’t talk to me.
“The thing I’m the most happy about is that he’s fine and that nothing bad happened. Of course, it’s a big damage for their team, but it’s part of racing. I think nowadays we need to understand much better how we can make racing safer and not take this amount of risks.
“When things like this happen, the guy that is behind has all the knowledge of the speed that he’s doing, of the amount of boost that he’s using, of what he’s trying. The person in front is much more blind, I think.
“Nowadays, with the closing speeds, you watch the mirror in one second and the second after, the car catches you [by] 20 metres. I do think that both have responsibility on it.
“I’m going to say that I never really moved aggressively at any point in that moment or in that corner, which made him have the incident or made him crash. I’m just glad that he’s OK. Of course, I’m not happy with his comments, but hopefully we can fix it soon.”
