Alpine has written an open letter refuting “completely unfounded” fan allegations that they have been sabotaging the car and competitive chances of their Argentinan driver Franco Colapinto.
Colapinto finished 16th at last weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix, while teammate Pierre Gasly finished seventh with a standout performance one place ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
The disparity in performance had led to fan comments directed at the team suggesting they were intentionally trying to thwart Colapinto’s chances.
Alpine finished last in 2025 but have returned to competitive and more regular points-scoring form this year — Colapinto himself finished 10th at the Chinese Grand Prix last month.
The team said jeopardising that position in any way “is absolutely not in the team’s best interests” and wouldn’t be “conducive to that ultimate end goal” of a better finish this year.
In a 1,188-word open letter addressed to Alpine and Formula 1 fans, the team wrote: “Franco is our driver and the team has placed its trust in him, just as he has with the team.
“That is an indication of the commitment we have to Franco and his place in the team with equal footing alongside Pierre.
“Any questions about sabotage or not giving Franco the same car are completely unfounded, which is why the team felt the need to speak out.
“It’s absolutely not in the team’s interests to not score points and any suggestion of self sabotage isn’t conducive to that ultimate end goal.
“From the opening races, the team finds itself in a strong position and the team is not counting on its laurels and is staying grounded.
“At the last two races, the team has been the fourth fastest car and we know we have to work incredibly hard to stay there and have two cars regularly in with a chance of scoring points.
“There might be times this year when pushing in the development race that upgrades come to one car first, which the team will communicate and be completely transparent about.
“That being said, the aim will always remain to bring upgrades to both cars where possible.”
Alpine’s statement also addressed abuse that’s been aimed at Colapinto after his near-miss with Haas driver Oliver Bearman, who crashed heavily after having to take evasive action to avoid the Alpine car.
Colapinto has been in the thick of dramatic moments this year and his Chinese GP tangle with Esteban Ocon — one the Haas driver took full blame for — led to the French driver getting death threats from Colapinto fans.
Alpine’s statement added: “The team condemns the hateful messages aimed towards Franco after last weekend’s race in Japan, the same way it condemns the abuse and threats that were aimed towards Esteban Ocon following a collision between the two cars at the Chinese Grand Prix.
“The two drivers were racing hard and fighting for position and Esteban took full responsibility and apologised to Franco, actively seeking him out in the media pen and also apologising on social media.
“The resulting abuse that followed was not in the spirit of the sport and was an oversight not to call it out sooner.
“Abuse of any kind to all drivers is unacceptable and it was especially disappointing that it comes from a minority of fans of the team towards a driver who has given so much to the team in the past and is a Grand Prix winner for Alpine.
“Subsequently, the team also condemns the hateful behaviour towards Franco following the incident with Ollie Bearman at Suzuka.
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“First of all, the most important thing is the safety and wellbeing of the drivers and thankfully Ollie is okay.
“The closing speeds are a characteristic of these cars and as stated by the FIA, it’s something that will be closely reviewed in the coming weeks.
“The FIA also reviewed the incident involving Franco and Ollie during the race and deemed that no further action was necessary.”
Bearman’s crash highlighted a growing safety concern about F1’s new cars, with the battery harvesting and deployment drivers do at different stages around the lap meaning there are times when there are dangerous closing speeds between one car and another.
Bearman had approached Colapinto’s car with a closing speed of 50 mp/h due to the fact he was boosting his battery while the Argentine was harvesting.
Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA) lead Carlos Sainz, criticised the FIA after the race for prioritising the spectacle over driver safety.
