It was a frustrating 2026 F1 Dutch GP weekend for Alpine’s Franco Colapinto, who crossed the line in P14. After qualifying in P14 on Saturday, the Argentinian driver had a strong start and moved up the order into the top ten as he capitalised on Max Verstappen’s crash on the opening lap, as well as making moves.
However, he was later awarded a drive-through penalty for overtaking Yuki Tsunoda under yellow flags, which saw Colapinto falling down the order. The Alpine driver was then awarded a 10-second time penalty for yet another yellow flag infringement near the end.
Reflecting on his challenging outing in Zandvoort, Colapinto shared his perspective on the penalties, which he deemed were “extremely harsh”.
Colapinto shares insights on “tricky” track conditions
Franco Colapinto said the drive-through penalty had a significant effect on his 2026 F1 Dutch GP.
The 23-year-old shared his insights on the challenging track conditions, including the damp track at the end of the first lap. He then highlighted how difficult it was to judge the situation on track while navigating the flying debris.
In addition, despite lacking the pace of the upgraded Alpine and running the older specification, the Argentinian driver had a decent start. He was also able to pull off some impressive overtakes in the opening lap of the race.
“Yeah, it’s just the drive-through that compromised the whole of our race. I did a very good start and I was up there in the points. Yeah, just tricky, I think. Tricky to judge in those conditions when you’re fighting in lap one, making a move and it’s all wet and damp and in the camber and there are parts of the car flying around. It was a very, very late yellow flag when I was finishing my overtake and it was clearly much more dangerous to slam on the brakes and accelerate in the middle of the straight, on the banking and on the wet when everyone was spinning, so it’s a very tricky one.”
Colapinto on drive-through penalty at 2026 F1 Dutch GP
This made receiving the drive-through even more frustrating for Colapinto as he dropped down the order despite his hard work. The Argentinian driver had received the penalty after he was deemed to have overtaken Racing Bulls’ Yuki Tsunoda coming out of the final corner when the yellow flags were waved.
“I kind of feel that, you know, even though the rules are written, they should be much more flexible and they should have the criteria to also understand what’s safer or a bit more unsafe, you know. If someone is going 30 kmph slower in the same part of the track, he’s being overtaken. When a yellow flag comes in, it’s not a lot you can do. It’s very tricky to react to that. After that, the race was very compromised behind the Cadillacs. I was just stuck digging the tyres with no grip and no pace after. Tricky, I think it was. Again, a very strong start, a strong weekend in general but quite unfortunate with this kind of thing.”
The penalty should have been more lenient
Colapinto was not the only driver who received a drive-through penalty in the opening lap. Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad received an identical penalty for overtaking Alpine’s Pierre Gasly under the yellow flag.
The Argentinian felt that the penalty given to both him and Lindblad was “extremely harsh”.
As explained by Colapinto, he completed the overtake under late yellow flags during the chaotic 2026 F1 Dutch GP opening lap. He argued that the stewards should exercise greater flexibility rather than strictly penalizing drivers who make split-second safety decisions in hazardous track conditions.
“I think generally they are being, I mean, with this I feel they have been extremely harsh. I mean, it’s their job, you know. But it’s also their job to be a bit flexible and understand the situation. I think especially what’s more dangerous than the other thing, when the grip is so low and the conditions are like that. To me, it’s just a bit harsh. I think for both, for me and [Arvid] Lindblad, especially at right through, it kills your race. So it’s a bit…It feels so much, but yeah, it is what it is.”
Colapinto is looking forward to the upgrades
Coming into the 2026 F1 Dutch GP weekend, Pierre Gasly’s A526 was fitted with a new aerodynamic package. These upgrades included a revised floor, sidepod bodywork, diffuser, and rear wing. However, these were only available on the Frenchman’s car.
Colapinto shared his perspective of the chaotic opening laps. He also spoke on how he was able to capitalise on Verstappen’s crash. The Argentinian then admitted that he had anticipated leaving the weekend empty-handed since he was running his A526 without the upgrades.
Nonetheless, he is motivated by Alpine’s performance improvement, as evident by Gasly’s finish in the points. Colapinto then shared that he is “excited for the future” as he is set to receive the same upgrade package in Monza.
“It was difficult. But I think it was a good opportunity to make the moves and I overtook four cars. In those three conditions, yeah, it was good to make some moves. Of course, a bit annoying with the result, but at the end of the day, you know, we came without the upgrade and it was tricky to score points. Pierre was P10, so we scored a point, which is positive, but for us it was a bit tricky.
“Yeah, good. Looking forward to the upgrade. I think they did a very big step, so I’m excited for the future.”
