Nico Hulkenberg has pointed the finger at Franco Colapinto for causing his costly spin during the Singapore Grand Prix, insisting that the Alpine driver hit the brakes far earlier than expected. The Sauber driver was fighting for 14th place when the incident occurred, eventually finishing at the back of the field.
Battle for Position Turns Costly
Nico Hulkenberg was chasing Colapinto on lap 43 when he clipped the rear of the Alpine through Turn 8, damaging the endplate of his front wing. However, stewards deemed the rookie blameless since he had the inside line and was already ahead at the apex, meaning he had no obligation to leave space.
A lap later, Hulkenberg misjudged Colapinto’s braking into Turn 7 and spun out. Although he managed to continue, he limped home in 20th and last after being overtaken by Pierre Gasly on the final lap.
“Pretty big one actually, lucky not to hit anything,” the German veteran commented. “Franco braked 100 metres early, which I’m not sure why. Probably wanted to surprise me somehow – [he] succeeded with that,” Hulkenberg added with a bitter laugh. “But the problem is, when you get close, the rear downforce just drops away completely. The rear axle locked up instantly, and there’s nothing you can do then.”
Colapinto Shrugs Off the Incident
Colapinto appeared unfazed by Hulkenberg’s comments and suggested that only the German could explain what happened. “I don’t know, I just saw him in the mirror spinning. I can’t tell you, he should tell you for [himself],” he said.
The rookie driver secured 16th place, finishing ahead of teammate Gasly for the fourth time in races where both Alpines saw the chequered flag. Despite that, Alpine’s struggles continued as they failed to score points for the fifth race in a row.
Strategic Gamble Fails to Deliver
Colapinto admitted the race had been difficult from the outset, with poor pace and heavy tyre wear hampering performance. He was the only driver to attempt a soft/medium strategy, while most of the grid opted for different tyre plans.
“Very long day, very tough, no pace in the car. I think it’s just a frustrating afternoon. We did our best, with a strange strategy to try and make it work – and do something different to the others – but it didn’t work,” Colapinto said.
“Just a lot of degradation in the car, the tyres falling apart, and nothing really clicking together. It’s tough out there, it’s not what we want. We just need to keep pushing, but it’s definitely very difficult at the moment.”
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