Alpine dismisses 'sabotage' claims in open letter addressing online abuse

Alpine has issued a lengthy public statement to categorically deny "unfounded" allegations that rookie Franco Colapinto's car was sabotaged at the Chinese Grand Prix, while also taking a firm stance against the online abuse directed at its drivers. The team clarified that both cars ran with identical equipment in Shanghai, attributing any minor performance differences to standard operational procedures.

Why it matters:

In the hyper-competitive world of Formula 1, internal team harmony and driver confidence are critical assets. Public speculation about favoritism or sabotage can fracture team unity and distract from on-track performance. Furthermore, Alpine's decision to directly confront toxic fan behavior highlights a growing, industry-wide challenge of managing online discourse and protecting personnel from harassment.

The details:

• The 1,200-word letter was prompted by social media speculation from some Argentine fans, who suggested Colapinto's A524 was intentionally inferior to teammate Pierre Gasly's car after a 49-second gap between them in China.
• Alpine stated unequivocally that both drivers have been "running with the same equipment," aside from "some small low-performance impacting parts" in China due to a gearbox component change.
• The team addressed two separate incidents of online abuse: first towards Esteban Ocon after a collision with Colapinto in China, and then towards Colapinto following his high-speed incident with Oliver Bearman in Japan.
• Alpine condemned the abuse in both cases, calling it "not in the spirit of the sport" and "unacceptable," while confirming the FIA took no further action on the Bearman incident.
• On development parity, Alpine acknowledged that in a fast-paced upgrade race, new parts might occasionally reach one car first, but the "aim will always remain to bring upgrades to both cars where possible."

What's next:

Alpine enters the brief break before Miami positioned as the apparent fourth-fastest team, a promising start to 2026. The letter emphasizes a unified engineering group with both drivers collaborating closely. The team's public rebuttal aims to quell rumors and refocus efforts on maintaining their competitive momentum, with both drivers scheduled for simulator work at Enstone during the hiatus to extract more performance.