Lance Stroll lands Franco Colapinto dig to escalate driver beef
Lance Stroll hits back at Franco Colapinto's criticism as the beef between the pair escalates.
Lance Stroll has fired back at Franco Colapinto after the Alpine driver criticised him following the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Colapinto scolded Stroll after the Aston Martin driver was involved in an early collision that ended home hero Gabriel Bortoleto’s race on the opening lap.
Having watched the accident occur directly in front of him, Colapinto accused Stroll of “always taking people out” and “not looking in the mirrors”.
Stroll has escalated the unexpected beef between the pair by taking aim at Colapinto’s points record this season ahead of this weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Asked about Colapinto’s comments, Stroll responded: "I heard about it. I don't know. Maybe he's frustrated and angry with life.
"I don't know how many points he has in the championship. I can't tell you.
“He has zero points. I don't know. He should probably focus on his own things and try to score some points this year.”
Stroll revealed he spoke with Bortoleto after the race and that the pair had agreed the collision was a racing incident.
"I'm racing. I didn't get a penalty in Brazil or anything. I spoke with Gabriel after the race,” the Canadian explained.
“Probably Franco should focus on scoring a point or something this year.
"Maybe he's frustrated with his season and not where he wants to be. He needs to speak about other things that are irrelevant.
“My advice to him is that he tries to focus on his own thing and maybe score a point this year.”
Colapinto backtracks on comments
Speaking in the FIA press conference in Las Vegas, Colapinto appeared to backtrack on his criticism, stressing his comments were made “in the heat of the moment”.
“I think it was in the heat of the moment after the race,” Colapinto said.
“So the incident with Gabi from... I was just behind, and I just saw the moment. But, of course, sorry if it affected him.
“Of course, it was in the heat after the race. And yeah, hopefully it's all good between us.
"We've been spending a lot of time together on track in the races. We've been very close to each other and we had some close fights.”
Colapinto has been retained by Alpine for 2026 despite failing to score a point this season.
Stroll sits 15th in the championship standings with 32 points.
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