Colapinto’s return gets costly with pit lane speeding fine at Imola

Franco Colapinto’s return to the Formula 1 paddock is proving anything but quiet. After avoiding a penalty for exceeding his allocation of power unit components—thanks to the fact he’s taking over Jack Doohan’s penalty points—Colapinto has now found himself in trouble again, this time with his right foot doing the talking.

During Practice 3 at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Colapinto was clocked at 85.1 km/h in the pit lane, exceeding the speed limit by 5.1 km/h. The FIA has set the limit at 80 km/h for this weekend, and any breach, no matter how minor, triggers an automatic fine.

As a result, Alpine have been handed a €600 fine under Article 34.7 of the Sporting Regulations, bringing an expensive twist to Colapinto's otherwise promising weekend.

Colapinto, still trying to make his case for a longer-term seat, won’t want these small infractions to overshadow his performance on track. With Flavio Briatore recently commenting that the young driver is not locked in for just five races and must earn his place, every detail counts—on and off the stopwatch.