Franco Colapinto’s first qualifying session as an Alpine driver came to an end in the barriers after an accident at Imola’s Tamburello Chicane in Q1.
The Argentine driver was drafted in by Alpine ahead of this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix to replace Jack Doohan, who completed just seven races with the team before being demoted to the role of reserve driver.
Colapinto came to the seat with just nine races’ experience with Williams last year and, according to a team statement last week, has been given five races to prove himself.
The 21-year-old was attempting to improve on his first Q1 time when he ran wide in the final section of the Tamburello Chicane, lost control of the rear of the car and ploughed through the gravel on the outside of the corner and into the barriers.
He had set the 14th fastest time when the session was red flagged as a result of the incident, meaning he advanced to the second part of qualifying despite being unable to take part in it.
However, Colapinto could still drop places on the grid as he is under investigation for being released into the pit lane before the session had been officially restarted following an earlier red flag.
The earlier stoppage was caused by Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda suffering a huge impact at the Villeneuve Chicane after losing control on entry to the corner.
Source: espn.com