Franco Colapinto ‘not happy’ with Oliver Bearman comments after Suzuka crash fallout

Franco Colapinto is “not happy” with the comments made by Oliver Bearman following their collision at Suzuka.

Arriving for the F1 2026 season resumption in Miami, Colapinto said that he has been left on read by the Haas driver, having messaged him after their high-speed collision at Suzuka. Bearman pointed the finger at Colapinto for what he called an “unacceptable” move.

Franco Colapinto reacts to Oliver Bearman Suzuka crash comments

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Caught out by a rapid closing speed behind Colapinto’s Alpine, Bearman took evasive action onto the grass, lost control, and hit the wall in a 50G impact.

Thankfully, Bearman escaped without serious injury, which Colapinto pointed out is the “most important” thing.

However, Colapinto is “not happy” with what Bearman has had to say about the incident.

Appearing on the Up To Speed podcast, Bearman had said he was “really not happy” with Colapinto’s role, as he saw it, in the crash. Colapinto made an “unacceptable” small move left, according to Bearman, which combined with the increased speed differences between cars at times in F1 2026, instigated the crash, to Bearman’s mind.

Colapinto claimed that his message to Bearman shortly after the race at Suzuka remains unanswered.

Asked if he had seen Bearman’s comments, and whether he felt a need to speak with him, Colapinto told PlanetF1.com and other accredited media in Miami: “No, I already spoke about it.

“I think that the most important thing is that he was okay.

“I’m not going to comment too much about it. I’m just going to say that after the race, I sent him straight away a message. He never responded. So he didn’t talk to me. I didn’t talk to him.

“The thing I’m the most happy about is that he’s fine and nothing bad happened. Of course, a big damage for their team, but it’s part of racing.

“I think nowadays we need to understand much better how we can make racing safer and not take this amount of risk.

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“I think when things like this happen, the guy that is behind has all the knowledge of the speed that he’s doing, of the amount of boost that he is using, of what he’s trying, and the person in front is much more blind.

“I think nowadays, with the closing speeds, you’re watching the mirror in one second, and the second after, the car has caught you 20 meters.

“So I do think that both have responsibility on it.

“I’m going to say that I never really moved aggressively at any point in that moment, or in that corner, which made him have the incident, or made him crash.

“I’m just glad that he’s okay. Of course, not happy with his comments, but hopefully we can fix it soon.”

The FIA has introduced a series a tweaks to the regulations for Miami, where boost mode will be banned on safety grounds if the track is wet, with thunderstorms forecast for Sunday.

Additional reporting from Thomas Maher

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