Franco Colapinto criticizes Shanghai Safety Car after P10 finish

Franco Colapinto accused Race Control of inconsistent calls after the Chinese Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit. The Alpine driver said a Safety Car on lap 10 wrecked his hard-tyre plan and cost him a stronger finish. He still took 10th as Pierre Gasly placed sixth, giving Alpine a double-points result. His race also included contact with team-mate Esteban Ocon during his pit cycle.

Colapinto started on hard tyres and aimed for a long first stint. The plan was to climb as others stopped early, then switch to soft tyres late for a strong final push. The approach worked at first. As the front-runners pitted, he rose to around second place on track and managed his pace. Alpine had framed the race around a late attack. The team believed the soft tyre would give Colapinto the grip he needed once fuel loads dropped.

That picture changed on lap 10. Lance Stroll stopped on track, and Race Control sent out a Safety Car. The field bunched up and the offset strategies faded. Colapinto said that call went against the pattern he has seen this season. He pointed to other races where similar stoppages brought only a Virtual Safety Car. He called the choice in Shanghai inconsistent and said it ruined the advantage of his long opening stint. He felt the neutralization reset the order and undercut the value of his tyre life.

The setback grew later in the race. Colapinto made his stop on lap 32 and rejoined in traffic. As he came back onto the racing line he was hit by Ocon. Ocon apologized and received a 10-second penalty. Colapinto’s car took floor damage in the contact. He reported a loss of downforce and a drop in pace. He struggled to hold grip on corner entry and could not attack on exit. The damage forced him to manage tyres and defend more than planned.

Even with the Safety Car blow and the contact, Colapinto reached the flag in 10th. He scored a point for Alpine. Gasly’s sixth place made it a double-points day and a clear step from earlier rounds. Colapinto said the result shows progress from Alpine’s long-range plan that centers development on the 2026 rules. He framed the score as proof that updates and setup work are starting to land at the track. He also said the car still needs a lot of work to turn pace into regular top-10 runs.

He flagged two problems that shaped his race. The first was high degradation on the medium tyre in his final stint. He had to ease off to keep the compound alive, which cost lap time against cars with cleaner air or fresher rubber. The second was handling that he called unpleasant in several phases. The floor damage worsened the balance, but he said the car had been tricky even before the hit. The rear moved too much over bumps and in long corners, and the front lacked bite in traffic.

Colapinto did not soften his view on the lap 10 call. He argued that the Safety Car removed the strategic variance he and Alpine had built into the race. He said a Virtual Safety Car would have preserved some gaps and kept his plan intact. The comments put the focus on how different interventions can change strategy, track position, and tyre life. For Colapinto, those swings shaped his day as much as the contact with Ocon. The point still counted, and Alpine left Shanghai with two cars in the top 10 and signs of better form.