Colapinto Reveals Pit Exit Wall Strike That Nearly Cost Him Sixth Place Finish

Franco Colapinto delivered his best Formula 1 result to date in Canada, finishing sixth despite a frightening incident at the pit lane exit during the Virtual Safety Car period.
The Alpine driver struck the wall while leaving the pit lane, a moment that went unseen by television cameras but left Colapinto shaken over the team radio.
“I crashed, I fucking crashed!” Colapinto exclaimed on his radio. “Idiot.” The Argentine feared in that moment that his race had been compromised significantly.
Fortunately, the contact proved minor. The car sustained only a small amount of damage that required no repairs and had no impact on the car’s performance for the remainder of the race.
The timing of the incident also helped Colapinto limit his losses, as the race was neutralised under the Virtual Safety Car at that point, meaning he lost very little time on his competitors.
Colapinto described the conditions as particularly treacherous throughout the opening stages of the race, citing a difficult combination of tyres and track surface grip levels.
“It was extremely low grip out there and slippery, especially at the start in the opening laps on a harder compound tyre to those around us,” said Colapinto, who started the race on the medium compound.
He went on to explain exactly what happened at the pit exit, describing how a wet patch sent him sliding toward the barrier with little he could do to correct it.
“I also had a scary moment exiting the pits after my stop, where I hit a wet patch, then went on the white line and drifted towards the wall. Thankfully I hit the wall side on and got away with a small amount of damage, which didn’t require repairs or impact the performance,” Colapinto said.
Despite the mid-race scare, Colapinto recovered composure and brought the car home in sixth place, equalling Alpine’s strongest individual result of the 2025 season so far.
Teammate Pierre Gasly added to the team’s haul by finishing eighth, giving Alpine a double points finish and their highest combined points score of the current campaign.
Colapinto acknowledged that fortune played a role in the result, with other drivers ahead encountering their own problems during the race, but he stressed the team made the most of every opportunity available.
“From where we started the weekend, to having a double points finish for the team, is a great result and a fantastic reward for everyone at the team who has been working so hard,” said Colapinto.
“It’s also my best result in Formula 1, which makes me very happy and builds on the performance we showed in Miami,” the 21-year-old added, referencing his recent form with the Enstone-based outfit.
“We know we benefitted from others’ misfortune, and it’s never a nice feeling to benefit from their issues, but we maximised everything we could and brought the car home,” Colapinto concluded.
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