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Alpine's top executive, Flavio Briatore, has voiced his profound frustration following a race incident at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix that saw both of his team's cars retire. He specifically criticized driver Franco Colapinto for a regrettable maneuver that led to a collision with teammate Pierre Gasly.

The incident occurred on lap 36 of the race, shortly after a safety car restart. Colapinto's vehicle, grappling with dusty, low-grip conditions on the Baku street circuit, locked its front tires. This caused him to swerve and impact Pierre Gasly's car, ultimately forcing both Alpine drivers out of the competition. McLaren's Lando Norris was also caught up in the melee, denying Alpine a strong points finish that seemed within reach.

Both Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris publicly shared their dismay regarding Colapinto's actions. Norris went as far as to suggest that the FIA should consider issuing a one-race ban for what he perceived as reckless driving. Briatore echoed similar sentiments, making no attempt to conceal his disapproval of the young Argentinian driver's performance.

In Alpine's official post-race statement, Briatore was quoted expressing his immense disappointment with the race's outcome. He emphasized the crucial championship points lost due to the incident, especially given that both cars were performing well and positioned to score points. He extended his apologies to his team, to Pierre Gasly, who had an excellent weekend up to that point, and also to Lando Norris and McLaren for the disruption to their race.

Briatore acknowledged that Franco Colapinto had accepted full responsibility for the collision, which he deemed appropriate. He highlighted that Colapinto had braked significantly too late, failing to account for the race context and the restart procedure following the safety car. Briatore characterized this as a highly substandard decision for a driver of Colapinto's purported experience level. He indicated that he would thoroughly review the situation and determine the necessary steps to prevent such occurrences in the future.

The unfortunate event in Baku arrived at a particularly inopportune moment for Colapinto, who had recently been enjoying a period of strong performance in Formula 1. This positive trajectory had previously secured him a new contract with Alpine for the 2027 season, ensuring his continued partnership with Gasly at the Enstone-based squad. The recent misstep casts a shadow over this promising development, prompting a period of reflection and potential reevaluation by the team's leadership.

In a significant development for the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) season, the Excelr8 Motorsport Hyundai squad has opted for a late-season engine swap for driver Tom Chilton's Hyundai i30 N Fastback. The team will transition from their long-standing bespoke Swindon Powertrain engines, which have been in use since 2022 when Tom Ingram secured his first championship with the team, to a customer M-Sport-built TOCA powerplant. This change is effective immediately for the upcoming Silverstone event and the season finale at Brands Hatch.

This strategic decision follows a season plagued by reliability concerns, specifically recurrent alternator malfunctions, that have adversely affected Chilton's standing in the championship, currently placing him 12th. Despite incurring a five-point penalty for exceeding the allowed two engines per driver per season, dropping him to 14th, the team prioritizes reliability for the final two rounds. Chilton has already familiarized himself with the new M-Sport engine, undertaking a shakedown at their Cumbria facility, where he demonstrated promising pace, securing the sixth fastest time in free practice at Silverstone, notably as the quickest on new medium-compound Goodyear tires.

The engine change is not the only modification for Excelr8, as Osamu Kawashima is set to make his BTCC debut, replacing Ricky Collard, who holds fourth in the championship. Kawashima, 57, becomes the first Japanese driver in the BTCC since Kunimitsu Takahashi's one-off appearance in 1985. In the initial free practice session, Dan Rowbottom of CPRL Mercedes set the fastest lap, closely followed by Mikey Doble's Power Maxed Racing Audi, with Charles Rainford (West Surrey Racing BMW) and Adam Morgan (CPRL Mercedes) also showing strong performances. Josh Cook, who led for much of the session, finished fifth after late improvements from competitors, while championship leader Ash Sutton placed 20th due to the TOCA Turbo Boost regulations impacting his Ford Focus on the short Silverstone National Circuit.

The bold move by Excelr8 Motorsport to change engines mid-season highlights the relentless pursuit of performance and reliability in competitive motorsport. It underscores the importance of adaptability and strategic risk-taking to overcome challenges and optimize outcomes, embodying the spirit of innovation that drives racing forward. Such decisions, though potentially penalizing in the short term, are often made with a long-term vision for success and improved competitive edge, reflecting a proactive approach to continuous improvement and an unwavering commitment to achieving peak performance.