Franco Colapinto’s debut with Alpine at the 2025 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix was marred by a one-place grid penalty following a pit lane rules infringement during qualifying. The 21-year-old Argentine, stepping in for Jack Doohan as part of Alpine’s driver rotation strategy, encountered a setback in Q1. After recording a time sufficient to advance, Colapinto spun off at Tamburello, bringing out a red flag. Upon the session’s resumption, he entered the fast lane of the pit lane before the restart time had been confirmed—a violation of FIA regulations. Alpine had instructed him to “creep out” of the garage, but he misunderstood and moved into the fast lane prematurely. The team acknowledged the miscommunication and noted that reversing the action was not feasible once initiated. Although the incident did not confer any sporting advantage, the stewards imposed a one-place grid drop, moving Colapinto from 15th to 16th on the starting grid .
This penalty adds pressure to Colapinto’s five-race stint with Alpine, which includes upcoming events in Monaco, Spain, Canada, and Austria. Alpine’s management will assess his performance during this period to determine his potential for a longer-term role with the team .
The qualifying session at Imola was eventful, with Oscar Piastri securing pole position for McLaren, narrowly edging out Max Verstappen by 0.03 seconds. The session was also marked by a significant crash involving Yuki Tsunoda, who flipped his car at the Villeneuve chicane but emerged unscathed .