Franco Colapinto’s defensive driving sparks anger at Audi

Franco Colapinto was once again a protagonist in Formula 1, although this time not only for his performance. One of the most discussed maneuvers of the Brazilian Grand Prix had the Argentine as its central axis and opened a new front of debate in the paddock, Audi questioned his way of defending the position against Nico Hülkenberg, despite the fact that the FIA stewards considered that the German driver had committed an infraction and applied a ten-second penalty to him.

The sequence occurred on lap 48 when Hülkenberg returned to the track after his second pit stop and found Colapinto's Alpine, the German had newer tires, while the Argentine had many more laps on the same set and had to manage a very worn compound, despite that difference Colapinto resisted for four laps, closed the gaps, stretched the braking and forced Hülkenberg to look for different alternatives to complete the pass. The decisive moment came at the first corner when the Audi driver tried to overtake him on the outside but ended up using the asphalt escape road to complete the maneuver.

The stewards analyzed what happened and determined that Hülkenberg had left the track limits to obtain a lasting advantage, for that reason he received a ten-second penalty. However Audi's interpretation was very different, Allan McNish competition director of the team, came out to defend his driver and pointed directly at the Argentine's trajectory: "For us the situation was not clear. Normally if you are ahead at the apex of the corner you have the right to keep your position, but since the first corner leads into the S, it is very subjective to determine precisely where the apex is and Colapinto never reached the apex. He was very far from it, he didn't even come close" McNish sustained.

The questioning did not end there. According to the Audi executive the team understood that Hülkenberg had arguments to claim the position and that the Argentine had opened up at the corner: "He just pushed him to the outside, he skipped the apex" he stated when reconstructing the maneuver. One of the points that drew the most attention was McNish's explanation of why Audi did not ask Hülkenberg to give the position back immediately after the pass; the executive assured that they did not have a clear interpretation of what happened and that when they were able to review the situation, the German had already achieved a two-second difference.

The discussion also exposed a regulatory question that usually generates controversy, the FIA guidelines establish that a driver who tries to overtake on the outside has the right to space if upon reaching the apex, his front axle is ahead of the rival's front axle, furthermore he must maintain control of the car throughout the maneuver and complete the corner within the track limits. In this case the stewards understood that Hülkenberg did not comply with those conditions and that he obtained an advantage by using the escape road.

For Colapinto the action left a clear sporting reading: with much more worn tires and against a rival who arrived with better conditions to attack, he held the position for several laps. The Argentine finished thirteenth in Brazil and also finished ahead of his teammate Pierre Gasly.

His defense against Hülkenberg was one of the episodes that generated the most conversation after the race, the discussion is raised: Audi considers that its driver did not receive enough space; the FIA, on the other hand understood that the German went off track and obtained an advantage, meanwhile Colapinto was once again under the spotlight for a maneuver in which he defended his place to the limit.