Follow us on Google Discover Max Verstappen has long been established as the number one driver at Red Bull. Ever since Daniel Ricciardo left the team, his partners have been relegated to a support role.
Thus, it’s extremely rare for Verstappen to face team orders. There was one notable occasion, after he’d sealed the title, at the 2022 Sao Paulo GP.
A struggling Verstappen was told to let Sergio Perez through, but he refused. He saw this as payback for a qualifying incident in Monaco.
Lewis Hamilton says McLaren have to be ‘cut-throat’ to beat Verstappen, but he himself has shown a greater willingness to prioritise the team’s interests. He has swapped positions with Charles Leclerc on multiple occasions this season, though he did slow down too late in Azerbaijan to relinquish P8 to his Ferrari teammate.
Juan Pablo Montoya understands Franco Colapinto disobeying team orders but warns of consequences
According to Juan Pablo Montoya, only a driver of the stature of Verstappen or Hamilton can ignore team orders and get away with it. That’s why he was surprised to see Franco Colapinto do so in the United States.
Colapinto was told to hold P18 behind Pierre Gasly, but after expressing dismay on the radio, he overtook him anyway. In a statement that was later removed from Alpine’s social media channels, managing director Steve Nielsen said he was ‘disappointed’ that a clear instruction hadn’t been followed.
Speaking to AS Colombia, Montoya said Alpine’s order seemed ‘crazy’ given that Colapinto was on fresher tyres and the stakes were so low. But perhaps the Argentine, who hasn’t scored a point this year, should have been more attentive to the potential consequences.
“Let’s see, I’ll give you both sides of the coin and let people think what they want,” Montoya said. “I’m not going to get involved in controversy.
Photo by Bryn Lennon – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images
“First, I’m going to defend it, because he was coming faster, the team is crazy, what are they playing at? Why are they giving him a team order at this point? What do they need? Honestly, unnecessary. He wasn’t going to affect the result.
“Why? If Franco is on a different strategy with fresher tyres, why are they doing that? They’re way out of line.
“On the other hand, and I can also add to that, well done to Franco for standing up for himself and deciding, ‘I don’t care, I’m not going to let myself be pushed around, right?’ That’s what you’d think from those moves.
“The other side is that Franco is not world champion at the moment. Franco is not Lewis Hamilton at the moment, he is not Max Verstappen to be able to come and not follow team orders.
“Team orders have their reason and you have to follow them, whether you like it or not. And not following team orders has consequences.”
Alpine have finally made a decision about Franco Colapinto’s future
The latest reports suggest Colapinto was given a ‘dressing down’ by Alpine afterwards. Nielsen had promised an internal ‘review’.
But it seems that this hasn’t had a bearing on his future. In fact, Alpine have told Colapinto they will keep him for 2026.
The battle for the seat alongside Gasly had come down to Colapinto and reserve driver Paul Aron, who appeared in FP1 on Friday.
Flavio Briatore looked exasperated with Colapinto as he qualified last in Mexico, but that shouldn’t be seen as anything more than instinctive frustration.