Alpine F1 team defends Colapinto after Clarkson comments

Alpine has backed driver Franco Colapinto after TV personality Jeremy Clarkson made comments suggesting he should receive a grid penalty for being Argentine ahead of the US Grand Prix. Clarkson, appearing in Austin with Alpine, joked in an interview with Sky Sports that “Franco’s got a grid penalty for being Argentinian” and added he would likely add one. Colapinto already has a 10-place penalty for Sunday’s Circuit of the Americas race due to power unit component changes. Alpine, owned by Renault, said the remarks were personal views that don’t match the team’s values, and reiterated full support for Colapinto.