Joy, smiles, crying, heartbreak… All sensations and feelings that are mixed in the figure of Franco Colapinto, who after climbing from thirteenth to seventh place in the Feature Racefrom Formula 2, at the Australian Grand Prix, was declassified by a resolution of the sports stewards, who applied the technical regulations due to an error by the Argentine pilot in the start set-up procedure. A weekend that began with failures in the classification, a convincing fourth place in the Race Sprint and the sanction in the final chapter of participation in the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne, the roller coaster that the Argentine climbed, as he retraces his first season in the category.
“He did not activate the set-up procedure at the start of Race 2″, the sports stewards warned, noting that “an infraction of Article 1.5.2 of the Technical Regulations of the FIA Formula 2 Championship and Article 10.15 of the F2 2024 System User Manual” was committed, they reported, after receiving a report of the technical delegate. The authorities summoned and listened to the driver and the representative of the MP Motorsport team and agreed that a defined activation of the set-up procedure must be used during all formation lap starts and the race start.
Colapinto’s misstep in the Feature Race
“The data of car 12 [Colapinto] show that the pilot activated the start setup procedure for the formation lap. However, the pilot did not press both buttons to activate the starting set-up procedure for the start of the race. Considering the matter, the Stewards determined that Car 12 violated Article 1.5.2 of the Technical Regulations and Article 10.15 of the F2 2024 System User Manual. Therefore, the stewards decided to disqualify Car 12 from the results of Race 2 (Feature Race). “Competitors are reminded that they have the right to appeal certain decisions of the Stewards, in accordance with Article 15 of the FIA International Sports Council and Chapter 4 of the FIA Judicial and Disciplinary Regulations, within the applicable deadlines,” reads the text that issued the category.
With the points lost due to disqualification, Colapinto dropped four positions in the championship: it left the 10th position and fell back to 14th, with 13 units, after the first three rounds of the season. The games are presented as a weakness for the Argentine, since the complexity and failures occurred in the three dates on the calendar; The remaining deficit is the classification, while the race pace is his best credential: in Australia he tried overtaking top drivers like Oliver Bearman – he made his debut in Jeddah in Ferrari before the emergency operation that Carlos Sainz Jr. underwent – , José María Martí, Vitor Martins, Enzo Fittipaldi… “I had good rhythm, with the soft tires it was a disaster. It’s a shame that I still have problems with the start, because no one has them: I’m the only one. Now there are some tests coming and we will work on that and on the classification, which are the weakest points“, Colapinto summarized the performance, waiting for the tests and the next appointment that will be in Imola, between May 17 and 19.
The time in Melbourne had joys and sorrows for the man from Pilar and also for the team, which achieved a podium in the Sprint Race with the norwegian Dennis Hauger and joined points with the fourth place of Colapinto, who rose to that position after the sanction to the winner, the Frenchman Isack Hadjar (Campos Racing). The penalty for the Frenchman resulted from his participation in the accident at the beginning of the test, which led to its neutralization. Gabriel Bortoleto and Martí had participated in the incident.
Colapinto’s ability to avoid that first incident, generate overtakes and benefit from some confusion, allowed him to improve his initial position despite traction problems at the beginning. The hope for the podium was contemplated when on the radio he stated that he had greater speed than his teammate, although the team did not fuel a fight that could complicate the plans of both and the sum that encouraged MP Motorsport to become entangled among the best in the world. championship.