Flavio Briatore addresses the collision between Alpine drivers Franco Colapinto, Pierre Gasly, and McLaren’s Lando Norris at a 2026 F1 press conference in Malaysia. After the Safety Car left the track, Colapinto had a massive lock up into Turn 1, took out the French and British drivers and caused all three drivers to retire from the 2026 Azerbaijan GP.
The collision comes only a month after Colapinto extended his contract with Alpine. Given the points lost in Baku, the question remains whether consequences will ensue for future incidents.
Leaving the Baku crash in the past
Given the backlash Colapinto received on social media following the collision, Briatore was tight lipped on the subject heading into the 2026 F1 Malaysia round. He offers closed responses, stating that their decisions are internal to the team.
The Italian admits he was disappointed with the events in Baku but emphasises forgetting the past. He continues that there’s nothing to do about previous races and they must look forward to the 2026 race in Malaysia.
“Whatever we do is internal to the team. Sure, I was very disappointed with what happened in Baku, but it’s another race. We need to forget. We need to look always for the future, and the past is the past. There’s nothing possible to do.
On 2026 F1 Malaysia: “every race is a different scenario”
The defacto Team Principal says that the driver, the team and him were all upset at the results in Azerbaijan. However, he called it a mistake and is leaving it in the past. He redirected to the current F1 race saying this weekend in Malaysia is a different scenario.
“I was upset, yes, like I believe everybody in the team, including Franco, for the mistake he made. But this is the past. We need to go ahead and think about the future.
“Let’s talk about the race, the qualifying tomorrow and the race Sunday. Every race is a different scenario.
Although quiet at first, Briatore explains that fighting for fifth with Racing Bulls became all that much harder after giving away so many points in Azerbaijan. He said it’s impossible to come back from the loss of them but is ready to move forward with this weekend’s 2026 F1 race in Malaysia.
“Last weekend was not nice for us at all, and we’re fighting for fifth position with Racing Bulls. We gave away a lot of points. After that, it’s finished. What can we do? Whatever we’ve done, it is impossible to come back.”
