**Alpine Team Principal Steve Nielsen Delivers Strong Message After Franco Colapinto Defies Team Orders at US GP**
Alpine team principal Steve Nielsen sent a clear message to the drivers following Franco Colapinto’s decision to defy team orders at the recently concluded United States Grand Prix.
During Sunday’s race at the Circuit of The Americas, Colapinto ignored Alpine’s directive to maintain track position and not challenge his teammate, Pierre Gasly. Despite instructions, the Argentine driver went wheel-to-wheel with Gasly and, nearing the end of the race, made an audacious attempt to overtake for 17th position. Ultimately, Colapinto finished ahead of both Gasly and Gabriel Bortoleto.
Reacting to this breach of team protocol, Nielsen expressed his disappointment and made it clear that the incident would be addressed internally.
> “We gave the instruction for the drivers to maintain position as we were managing fuel with both cars and the added variable of the number of laps remaining with the leaders in close proximity. As a team, any instruction made by the pit wall is final and today we are disappointed that this didn’t happen, so it’s something we will review and deal with internally,” Nielsen stated.
Currently, Alpine sits 10th in the Constructors’ Championship, trailing the team in ninth place by 28 points.
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### Alpine Driver Pierre Gasly Reacts to Disappointing US GP Performance
Pierre Gasly shared his thoughts following the challenging race.
> “It’s been a disappointing afternoon where we fundamentally lacked performance. Today, we were just too slow. The first stint felt good, I was on the back of Liam [Lawson] in a train of cars and it felt like everything was being managed quite well.”
Gasly elaborated on how the race unfolded after his pit stop:
> “Then we pitted onto Softs, had a slow pit-stop, and everything just fell apart from there to the end of the race where I was in a lot of traffic. We have many things to review as a team as it has been very difficult for us to be competitive on Sundays. We will work on it and we go again in Mexico City next weekend.”
His teammate, Franco Colapinto, meanwhile, remains in 20th place in the standings without any points scored so far this season.
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### About the Author
**Sabyasachi Biswas** is a passionate motorsport journalist for Sportskeeda with a Master’s degree and over nine years of experience. With more than 11,000 published articles, he carefully follows motorsport events to provide thorough and reliable reports.
Inspired by Max Verstappen’s fearless attitude, Sabyasachi dreams of attending the Indian Grand Prix if it returns to the calendar. An ardent F1 fan, he enjoys following the careers of drivers like Verstappen and Felipe Massa.
Apart from Formula 1, he is also a dedicated NASCAR and football (soccer) fan, supporting Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports and Spanish club Real Madrid. He has a background in sub-junior level football and enjoys quizzes and debates.
A travel enthusiast, Sabyasachi loves exploring new cuisines and cultures. When not writing, he indulges in geopolitics, astronomy, and spending time with his two beagles, Khushi and Ubbu.
https://www.sportskeeda.com/f1/news-alpine-boss-issues-stern-message-franco-colapinto-ignoring-team-orders-f1-us-gp
