Colapinto's disobedience also received substantial praise: "That's racing," celebrated a former Formula 1 runner-up.

While awaiting a resolution to his future, Franco Colapinto managed to steal the spotlight in Formula 1. It was for a decision he made at the end of the United States Grand Prix that sparked both praise and controversy. A move that will be talked about for a long time, at least until the engines roar again next weekend at the Hermanos Rodríguez circuit in Mexico City.

The Argentine driver openly disobeyed an order given to him by Alpine from the pit wall in a radio communication with his track engineer, Stuart Barlow, which was heard live during the official broadcast. He unilaterally handed the decision to his teammate, Frenchman Pierre Gasly. It earned him a slap on the wrist from his superiors , but also provoked an immediate positive reaction from former Scottish driver David Coulthard, who was runner-up in the 2001 world championship and now serves as a commentator.

“That's racing. I'm sure you'll have a discussion about right and wrong afterwards, but you have to race, you have to show your mettle. And in the end, it was a clean overtake,” Coulthard said without hesitation during the live F1 TV broadcast.

The maneuver occurred on lap 54, when Colapinto, with a much faster pace, caught up with Gasly, who was running 17th. The Alpine pit crew asked him to hold his position, but the Argentine, stalked by Gabriel Bortoleto's Sauber and convinced he had better pace—he said the Frenchman was "slow"—passed him with a neat maneuver on the inside of Turn 1 of the Circuit of the Americas in sweltering Austin.

Team orders turns into an intra-team battle! ⚔️👀

Franco Colapinto passes Pierre Gasly with an audacious overtake on his team mate 🔀 #F1 #USGP pic.twitter.com/ZKxR4TOPjX