Argentine driver Franco Colapinto concluded his first race of the season at the Australian Grand Prix, where a stop-and-go penalty forced him to start from the back of the grid and heavily influenced his strategy for most of the race. Despite this setback, the Argentine managed to finish in 14th place and valued the result, describing the competition as «long and difficult». Regarding the penalty that defined his race, Colapinto expressed his surprise and considered the stewards' decision excessive: «A stop-and-go is insane. These are things to work on and improve,» he said at the end of the competition, according to the Argentine News Agency. Beyond the punishment that forced him to adopt atypical strategies—such as completing 48 laps on the same tire waiting for a safety car that never appeared—the Argentine salvaged the performance of the Alpine A526. «I think I was a bit lucky and my reflexes responded well,» the Argentine commented with a laugh, who now aims to continue evolving with the team in the upcoming races. Luckily, I was able to continue and finish the race. I think the team touched the car with 15 seconds to go before the start, but I haven't spoken to them properly yet and don't quite understand what happened. As he explained, the car showed better feelings in race pace than in qualifying and allowed him to get closer to direct rivals like Haas and Audi. Lastly, Colapinto recalled one of the most tense maneuvers of the start of the Grand Prix, when he managed to dodge Liam Lawson on the straight: «I was close to being stuck right there».
