Franco Colapinto and Mercado Libre executive hit out at FIA stewards after Dutch GP penalties

Franco Colapinto was handed two penalties during the Dutch Grand Prix, prompting a strong reaction from both the Argentine driver and a senior Mercado Libre executive, whose company is his main sponsor in Formula 1

Franco Colapinto found himself at the centre of an FIA stewards’ controversy after being penalised for an infringement under yellow flags at the start of the Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix.

The Alpine driver was in the process of overtaking Yuki Tsunoda when Max Verstappen crashed a few metres ahead, triggering yellow flags before the race was subsequently stopped by a red flag.

Colapinto was unable to avoid completing the pass on Tsunoda, prompting the stewards to investigate and hand him a drive-through penalty. That effectively ended his hopes of scoring points after he had moved into the top 10 early in the race. Arvid Lindblad was handed the same penalty for a similar move on Pierre Gasly.

The Argentine was visibly unhappy with the decision when asked about it by Motorsport.com after the race: "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.

"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."

Franco Colapinto, Alpine

Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images

When asked by Motorsport.com whether the stewards should have been more lenient and taken the circumstances into account, the 23-year-old answered: "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.

"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."

Later in the race, Colapinto received a second penalty, this time a 10-second penalty, for another infringement during a yellow-flag period. The stewards also added three penalty points to his licence, taking his total to four.

Mercado Libre executive hits out at FIA stewards

Colapinto wasn’t alone in his criticism of the stewards. Following the race, Sean Summers, Mercado Libre's Chief Marketing Officer, the Argentine company that supports the Alpine driver’s career in F1, expressed his frustration with the events at Zandvoort in a post on X.

The company executive tagged the FIA's official X account and wrote: "The 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."

Mercado Libre became a sponsor of Colapinto when the Argentine began racing for Williams at the 2024 Italian Grand Prix and continued to support him following his move to Alpine, becoming one of the driver's main backers in F1.

Colapinto ultimately finished 14th on Sunday, driving an older version of Alpine's car after the team fitted its latest A526 upgrades to Gasly's car.

Update: Alpine clarifies its stance

On Monday, an Alpine spokesperson issued a statement to clarified its stance following the above comments.

“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,” the statement read. “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.”