Alpine distances itself from Clarkson's Colapinto remarks after Sky interview in Austin
Alpine says a joke by its guest Jeremy Clarkson about Franco Colapinto's nationality does not reflect the team's values. The driver's manager called the words completely unacceptable; Colapinto himself played the matter down.
A joke that landed badly
A grid penalty is normally a story about engine parts. At the United States Grand Prix, one became a story about nationality after Jeremy Clarkson, a guest of the Alpine team, was asked about Franco Colapinto's ten-place drop for power unit changes in a Sky Sports interview outside the team's garage on Saturday.
According to PlanetF1 and GPFans, Clarkson said Colapinto had a penalty "for being Argentine, probably" and added that he would give him one for that. He then said it was because of what happened when he went there. The remark appears to refer to a 2014 Top Gear trip to Argentina that ended with the crew leaving the country after a number plate was read as a reference to the Falklands War. Clarkson and the BBC have always said that was a coincidence.
The reactions
Colapinto's manager, Jamie Campbell-Walter, responded on social media. He called the comments "completely unacceptable" and wrote that there is no place for such remarks in the sport, whoever makes them and whether or not they are meant as a joke. Respect, he added, must go both ways.
Alpine reacted without naming Clarkson. The team said it was aware of comments made in a recent TV interview by a guest of the team in Austin. It described them as personal views that do not align with its values and stressed that Colapinto is its driver and has its full support. GPFans notes that Clarkson has been linked with Alpine as a sponsor in the past, which made the situation awkward for the team. Neither report mentions a response or apology from Clarkson.
Colapinto kept his own answer short. He said it had nothing to do with the team and that, from what he had been told, Clarkson is always somewhat jokey. He said he does not really know him, had not seen much of the interview and wanted to concentrate on his own performance.
Colapinto's season so far
Our OpenF1 data shows the context in which the comments were made. Colapinto is 12th in the drivers' championship with 27 points after 18 rounds. He qualified 14th in Austin, started further back because of the penalty and did not finish the race, so he left the weekend without adding to that total.
The next race is the Mexico City Grand Prix, where Colapinto will again be among the drivers watched closely by a large Argentine following. Whether Clarkson or Alpine say anything further before then has not been announced.
