The main sponsor of Franco Colapinto has accused FIA stewards of “killing the integrity” of Formula 1 after the Alpine driver was handed two penalties at the Dutch Grand Prix. 

Colapinto was penalised for overtaking Yuki Tsunoda under yellow flags waved for Max Verstappen’s monster shunt that ultimately caused the race to be suspended after one racing lap. 

The stewards handed Colapinto a drive-through penalty for the incident, while Arvid Lindblad also copped an identical penalty for a similar move on Pierre Gasly. 

Colapinto was frustrated by his penalty, insisting that there was nothing he could have done to avoid passing Tsunoda in the moment. 

“It was the drive-through that compromised the whole of our race. I made a very good start and I was up there in the points. Yeah, just tricky, I think,” the Argentine explained. 

“Tricky to judge in those conditions when you’re fighting on lap one, making a move and it’s all wet and damp and on the banking, and there are parts of the car flying around. 

“I saw 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.

“I feel that 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. 

“If someone is going 30km/h slower in the same part of the track, you’re overtaking them and a yellow flag comes in, there’s not a lot you can do. It’s very tricky to react to that.”

The 23-year-old believes the stewards should have been more lenient given the circumstances. 

“I feel they have been extremely harsh. I mean, it’s their job, but it’s also their job to be a bit flexible and understand the situation,” Colapinto added. 

“I think especially what is more dangerous than the other, 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 Lindblad, but especially a drive-through, it kills your race. It feels too much, but it is what it is.”

Colapinto was later issued a 10-second penalty for another yellow flag infringement. He was also given three penalty points, taking his total for the current 12-month period up to four. 

The stewards’ decisions prompted an angry public response from a top Mercado Libre executive. Mercado Libre is the main sponsor of Colapinto, who finished 14th at Zandvoort. 

Taking to X, Sean Summers, Mercado Libre’s Chief Marketing Officer, wrote: “FIA stewards are killing the integrity of F1. 

“This season they are proving to be horrible and impacting race results. Incompetence? Dishonesty? Both?  Something is seriously broken in that organisation’s culture.”

Alpine issues statement 

Alpine issued the following statement to Crash.net following the comments made by the Mercado Libre chief. 

“As a team, we work closely with the sport’s governing body on the rules of engagement on track to ensure fair and exciting racing and, most importantly, safety,” an Alpine spokesperson said. 

“We fully trust the FIA and the Stewards when it comes to the policing of these rules and the application of sporting penalties during a live race scenario. 

“We believe the penalties applied for Yellow Flag Infringements during the opening laps of the Dutch Grand Prix were indeed harsh, but acknowledge they fit the punishment based on the letter of the law and were consistently applied across all competitors and is something we can review and learn from as a team.”