Gasly and Colapinto lose Mexico Grand Prix points due to penalties

Penalties for Colapinto and Gasly

Alpine drivers Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto lost all points from the Mexico Grand Prix after the FIA stewards issued post-race penalties for yellow flag infringements. The penalties demoted both drivers from scoring positions to the bottom of the classification. Gasly received a stop-and-go penalty for failing to slow sufficiently under double waved yellow flags, which the stewards converted into a 30-second time penalty. This punishment dropped the Frenchman from 10th place to 17th place, making him the last classified driver. The stewards handed Colapinto a 10-second time penalty for passing a single waved yellow flag without sufficient speed reduction. This penalty moved the Argentinean driver from 8th place to 15th. The stewards cleared Colapinto of the second charge concerning the double waved yellow flag sector because they found sufficient doubt that he had enough warning to comply with the requirements. The stop-and-go penalty converted to 30 seconds for Gasly exceeds the 10-second penalty given to Colapinto. The loss of these points heavily impacts Alpine’s standings.

The stewards reached their decision after reviewing positioning, marshalling system data, video, timing, telemetry, and in-car video evidence. For Colapinto, the officials determined that the telemetry and on board camera failed to satisfy them that the driver had sufficiently reduced speed through that single yellow sector. Alpine and Colapinto presented telemetry and photographic evidence claiming the driver complied with regulations to reduce speed and be prepared to change direction. Gasly faced a similar investigation regarding his speed in the double yellow flag sector. The stewards concluded that the small reduction noted in his telemetry was not sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the regulations after a detailed examination of the telemetry and that of other cars passing through that sector. Gasly also received two penalty points for the infringement, and both drivers apologized to the team in a post-race press release, with Gasly stating the error was "my error which has obviously stopped us from scoring points." Colapinto added that "it is my mistake in the car."

Reshuffled results and Hirakawa’s debut

The penalties for the Alpine duo and a 10-second penalty for McLaren’s Oscar Piastri reshuffled the results for several other drivers. Piastri received a penalty for clashing with Arvid Lindblad at Turn 1, which originally promoted Colapinto and Gasly to seventh and ninth. Following the additional punishments, Ryo Hirakawa secured a point on his Formula 1 debut for Haas. Hirakawa joined the Haas lineup on Saturday as a replacement for the benched Esteban Ocon and finished 13th on the track before the penalties moved him into 10th place. Lawson, who started from the pitlane, moved up to seventh place following the demotion of the Alpine drivers. The final points positions also place Gabriel Bortoleto in eighth and Isack Hadjar in ninth, which follows the loss of points for the French squad. Hirakawa discussed his race before the official confirmation of the penalties, noting that he "took too much margin" because his focus was to learn.

Championship standings after the race

The loss of points hampers Alpine in its pursuit of fifth place in the constructors’ championship. Racing Bulls holds a 35-point lead over Alpine with four races remaining. Alpine sits in sixth place with 69 points. Lawson moved into seventh. Bortleto jumped into eighth. Hadjar moved from 12th to ninth. The FIA stewards’ ruling directly impacts Alpine’s standing in the fight for fifth place as the season concludes.