Argentina’s Colapinto Starts 21st in Austin
ARGENTINA · SPORT · FORMULA 1
Argentina’s Franco Colapinto starts Sunday’s US Grand Prix in Austin from 21st place after a 10-place engine-electronics penalty, and his team has backed him after a guest joked that the penalty was for his nationality.
Key Facts
- —Grid Colapinto starts 21st on the 22-car grid, ahead only of Gabriel Bortoleto of Brazil.
- —Penalty A 10-place drop for a fourth control electronics unit moved him back from 14th.
- —Race Sunday 25 October, 3:00 p.m. in Austin, 4:00 p.m. ET and 5:00 p.m. in Buenos Aires.
- —Row Team guest Jeremy Clarkson joked on live TV that the penalty was for Colapinto’s nationality.
- —Response Alpine issued a statement of full support for its driver.
- —Prediction markets Polymarket prices Verstappen at 45.5% and Antonelli at 41.5% to win the race, Colapinto 0.3% (25 October, 6:09 a.m. ET).
- —Power Index Argentina ranks 4th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 61.2 points (October 2026 edition).
Franco Colapinto of Argentina starts the US Grand Prix on Sunday 25 October 2026 from 21st on the 22-car grid at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, after the FIA stewards dropped him 10 places for fitting a fourth control electronics unit. He qualified 14th on Saturday, and a remark about his nationality by a guest of his Alpine team has added a public row to a weekend that was already hard on the track.
For US readers, the race is a home Grand Prix in Texas that is scheduled to start at 3:00 p.m. local time (4:00 p.m. on the US East Coast and 5:00 p.m. in Buenos Aires). Alpine answered the remark in a statement on Saturday evening, and one of Colapinto’s agents called the comments unacceptable.
In Plain English
- Franco Colapinto: a 23-year-old Argentine from Pilar, in Buenos Aires province, who is 12th in the drivers’ standings with 27 points.
- Alpine: the BWT Alpine F1 Team, based in Enstone, England, which uses Mercedes power units and is sixth of 11 teams with 68 points.
- Control electronics unit: the electronic control box of a car’s hybrid power unit, of which each driver may use three new ones a season.
- Grid penalty: a set number of places a driver drops from where he qualified, imposed by the stewards for breaking the power unit rules.
How the Grid Was Set
The stewards’ decision, FIA document 14, was issued at 13:37 local time on Friday 23 October after the technical delegate found that Colapinto’s car had received a fourth control electronics unit, one more than the three allowed this season. It cites Article B8.2.2 of the Formula 1 regulations and orders a drop of 10 grid positions at the next race in which he takes part.
Colapinto then qualified 14th on Saturday 24 October with a best lap of 1:35.722 and was eliminated in the second session, the FIA classification shows. The provisional starting grid, document 44, puts him 21st, ahead only of Gabriel Bortoleto of Brazil, who qualified 13th but takes an 80-place penalty for new power unit parts.
Teammate Pierre Gasly qualified 11th and starts 10th, because Arvid Lindblad of Racing Bulls, who qualified ninth, drops five places for an extra power unit part. Sergio Pérez of Mexico and Valtteri Bottas, both of Cadillac, start 19th and 20th, directly ahead of Colapinto.
Why Alpine Took the Penalty
Colapinto was not alone in fitting a fourth control electronics unit, because the technical delegate’s report names Bortoleto’s car as well. The stewards gave Bortoleto 20 places on Friday for a fourth control electronics unit and a fourth energy store, then 60 more on Saturday after further changes, which the FIA grid shows as 80 places in total.
La Nación described the penalty as technical, and Clarín reported that it came two rounds after a power unit change in Malaysia that also cost Colapinto 10 places. Clarín’s Sabrina Faija called the part change a strategic decision for the end of the season, not a plot, and noted that Alpine is a Mercedes customer team.
Alpine is sixth of 11 teams in the constructors’ standings with 68 points, formula1.com shows, and Clarín reported that it needs points to close in on Racing Bulls. Colapinto is 12th in the drivers’ standings with 27 points, behind Gasly on 41.
Grid Penalties at a Glance
- Franco Colapinto (Alpine): 10 places, fourth control electronics unit, FIA document 14.
- Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi): 80 places, extra power unit parts, FIA documents 15 and 35.
- Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls): 5 places, extra power unit part, FIA document 19.
What Colapinto Says About the Car
After qualifying, Colapinto told ESPN that it was a strange session in which the team struggled throughout and had not found the car since Friday, especially over the curbs and the bumpiest part of the track, La Nación and Infobae reported (paraphrased from Spanish). He said he hoped the car would be steadier on Sunday and wear its tires less than rivals’ cars.
In a team statement he said Alpine had expected a better result even with the penalty, that the car did not seem to suit Austin as well as other circuits and that the team had saved some tires for the race, Infobae reported. He completed the most laps on Friday, 53, and was 15th in final practice on Saturday after spending most of it on race pace with a heavy fuel load, La Nación and Clarín reported.
La Nación’s Orlando Ríos wrote that Colapinto’s long-run average of 1:42.311 over 10 laps on hard tires in Friday’s second practice beat Liam Lawson’s 1:42.524 on mediums and Bortoleto’s 1:43.138, which, he wrote, left room for optimism. He added that the fuel loads of those rivals were not known.
What Clarkson Said
Jeremy Clarkson, the British presenter of “Clarkson’s Farm” and a guest of Alpine at the circuit, was asked about the team’s chances in a Sky Sports F1 interview on Saturday before qualifying, Motorsport.com reported. He joked that Colapinto had a penalty “for being Argentinian” and ended with a reference to what happened “when we went there.”
“Franco’s got a grid penalty for being Argentinian. Probably. Well, I’d give him one for that. But anyway, that’s just because of what happened when we went there.”
Jeremy Clarkson, Sky Sports F1, Saturday 24 October 2026, as quoted by Motorsport.com
The last line points to a 2014 Top Gear trip to Patagonia that ended in protests in Ushuaia over a Porsche 928 number plate, H982 FKL, which locals took as a nod to the 1982 Falklands War (the Malvinas war in Argentina), Motorsport.com and La Nación reported. The BBC said the plate was a coincidence, and the program’s executive producer called any suggestion that it was chosen on purpose “completely untrue.”
How Alpine and Colapinto’s Camp Responded
Alpine’s statement, which did not name Clarkson, said the team was “aware of the comments made by a team guest in a recent television interview in Austin” and that Colapinto “has our full support,” Motorsport.com reported. Spanish-language outlets carried a fuller version in which Alpine called the remark a personal opinion that does not match the team’s values of kindness and respect, Clarín and Infobae reported.
One of Colapinto’s agents, Jamie Campbell-Walter, who is British, wrote on X that Clarkson’s comments about Franco’s nationality were completely unacceptable and that there is no place for such remarks in Formula 1, whoever makes them and whether or not they were meant as a joke, Infobae reported (paraphrased from Spanish). Colapinto himself had not been quoted on the remark by Sunday morning.
The remark came nine days after Colapinto posted a Spanish-language video on Thursday 15 October asking Argentine fans to stop online abuse and telling them, “You’re not helping me or my future,” Autosport reported. Infobae noted that the row came in the middle of his campaign against hate on social media.
The Weekend in Dates
- Friday 23 October: the stewards order a 10-place drop for Colapinto’s fourth control electronics unit.
- Saturday 24 October: Colapinto is 15th in final practice and 14th in qualifying, and Clarkson speaks on Sky Sports F1 before qualifying.
- Saturday evening: Alpine and one of Colapinto’s agents answer the remark.
- Sunday 25 October: the race is scheduled to start at 3:00 p.m. in Austin.
What Prediction Markets Say
Polymarket’s market on the US Grand Prix winner, with about US$129,000 traded, priced Max Verstappen at 45.5% and Kimi Antonelli at 41.5% on 25 October, 6:09 a.m. ET. The same market put Colapinto at 0.3%, a thin price because only about US$73 had traded on his contract.
Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.
Prices are bets, not polls or forecasts. They can move quickly once the race starts.
What It Means for You
For US readers, the practical point is the start: the race runs 56 laps from 3:00 p.m. local time, and a driver in 21st must climb through the field at a track that, Clarín wrote, offers overtaking chances. The wider race picture, including the championship chase, is in our reports on
Antonelli’s pole and the Austin race guide.
For the Argentine fans who follow Colapinto closely, the row adds to a debate over abuse that he raised himself, which is why his team and one of his agents answered within hours. For sponsors and teams, it shows how a guest’s comment on live television can turn into a nationality dispute during a race weekend.
What to Watch
- How many places Colapinto gains on the first lap from 21st.
- Whether the car copes with the bumps and tire wear on race day.
- Any reply from Clarkson, or further comment from Alpine or Colapinto.
- The race result, which will be published in the FIA classification after the finish.
What Is Not Known
The race result, Colapinto’s finishing place and whether he scores points were not known when this was written. How far he can climb from 21st depends on the start, tire wear and any incidents or safety cars.
No reply from Clarkson, and no statement from Sky Sports F1 or Formula 1 on the remark, had been reported by Sunday morning. Whether Colapinto will comment himself, and whether Alpine will say more, was also not known.
The grid itself is the FIA’s provisional starting grid, so any change ordered by the stewards before the start would appear in a new FIA document. The finishing order will be published in the FIA classification after the race.
Connected Coverage
- Argentina Politics Explained, Who Holds Power in 2026, the people and parties behind the country’s public debate.
- Argentina Delays Malvinas Sovereignty Bill, on the Falklands dispute behind the 1982 reference.
- Buenos Aires City Guide for Expats and Visitors, the capital Colapinto’s fans follow him from.
- Antonelli Takes Austin Pole, Eyes F1 Title, the closest live report on the race.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does Franco Colapinto start the US Grand Prix?
He starts 21st on the 22-car grid. He qualified 14th and took a 10-place penalty for a fourth control electronics unit.
Why was Colapinto given a grid penalty?
The FIA technical delegate found his car had used a fourth control electronics unit, one more than the three allowed this season. The stewards ordered a 10-place grid drop at the next race.
What did Jeremy Clarkson say about Colapinto?
On Sky Sports F1 he joked that Colapinto’s grid penalty was for being Argentinian. Alpine said the comments came from a team guest and that Colapinto has its full support.
What time does the US Grand Prix start?
It is scheduled to start at 3:00 p.m. local time in Austin on Sunday 25 October 2026. That is 4:00 p.m. on the US East Coast and 5:00 p.m. in Buenos Aires.
Was the penalty linked to Colapinto’s nationality?
The stewards’ decision cites a technical rule on power unit parts and does not mention nationality. La Nación also described the penalty as technical.
What do prediction markets say about the race?
Polymarket priced Verstappen at 45.5% and Antonelli at 41.5% to win on 25 October, 6:09 a.m. ET. These are real-money bets, not polls.
Sources: FIA stewards, document 14, car 43 power unit element, 23 October 2026, FIA technical delegate, document 13, new power unit elements, 23 October 2026, FIA, document 43, final qualifying classification, 24 October 2026, FIA, document 44, provisional starting grid, 24 October 2026, FIA, timetable, 2026 United States Grand Prix, Formula 1, United States Grand Prix schedule, Formula 1, 2026 drivers’ standings, Formula 1, 2026 constructors’ standings, Motorsport.com, Clarkson comments, 24 October 2026, Motorsport.com, Alpine statement, 25 October 2026, Infobae, Alpine and agent messages, 25 October 2026, Infobae, Colapinto after qualifying, 24 October 2026, La Nación, Clarkson remark, 24 October 2026, La Nación, Colapinto starts 21st, 24 October 2026, Clarín, Clarkson and Alpine, 24 October 2026, Clarín, Alpine strategy, 24 October 2026, Autosport, Colapinto on online abuse, 16 October 2026; prediction-market prices from Polymarket, 25 October, 6:09 a.m. ET.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief