In a weekend marked by tension, Alpine drivers Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto had to face post-race penalties that left them out of the points in the Mexican Grand Prix. Taking advantage of this situation, debutant Ryo Hirakawa managed to score his first points in his first Formula 1 race.
Both Alpine drivers were subject to a review by FIA stewards for failing to reduce speed under yellow flags during the race. In the provisional results, Colapinto had finished in eighth place, while Gasly was in tenth.
Gasly was given a ‘stop-and-go’ penalty for not slowing down sufficiently under two yellow flags, which was converted into a 30-second penalty. Colapinto, on the other hand, received a 10-second penalty for his infraction under a yellow flag.
Although Colapinto found himself in the same situation as Gasly, he was not given the same sanction in a sector with a double yellow flag, as the stewards concluded that there was not enough evidence to consider that he had committed an infraction.
After the penalties, Gasly fell to 17th place and Colapinto to 15th. Hirakawa, who was competing with the Haas team, managed to finish the race in tenth position after other drivers such as Oscar Piastri were also penalized.
Hirakawa was named a Haas driver at the last minute, after the team decided to withdraw Esteban Ocon before the race, thus offering a golden opportunity for this young Japanese talent to showcase his potential in the top tier of motorsport.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
