F1 driver sends unheard ‘I’m so scared’ radio message to his team during the Italian Grand Prix

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The Italian Grand Prix wasn’t the most exciting race of the season until the final few laps.

McLaren made things interesting with a controversial team orders decision, but ultimately, neither of their drivers could catch Max Verstappen.

Verstappen comfortably won at Monza, with Lando Norris narrowly closing the gap to Oscar Piastri in the drivers’ championship by finishing marginally ahead of his teammate.

Ferrari fans were jubilant on the main straight after the race, even if Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton could only finish fourth and sixth in front of the Tifosi.

The likes of Alex Albon, Gabriel Bortoleto and Isack Hadjar did brilliantly to score points with the midfield teams split by very different strategies and constant DRS trains.

One team who had another race to forget were Alpine.

Pierre Gasly started from the pit lane, but he and teammate Franco Colapinto were both eliminated in Q1 and failed to finish in the top 10.

Colapinto’s radio messages have now emerged, and the Argentinian had another very tough race.

So much so that at one point, he appeared to be struggling with his Alpine, leading to a worrying, unheard radio message.

READ MORE: Who is Alpine 2025 F1 driver Franco Colapinto? Everything you need to know

Franco Colapinto sent Alpine an ‘I’m so scared’ radio message after Italian Grand Prix brake issue

Halfway through the race, Colapinto could be heard saying to his team, “I can’t brake, I’m so scared.”

He followed this up by saying, “I don’t want to take this to failure,” however, he didn’t specify what exactly was wrong with the car.

After the race, Colapinto’s engineer said: “It was a very, very difficult afternoon out there. We knew it was going to be hard. Well done for sticking with it. Pace seems to pick up again on the media once we got back into our normal running. Well done this weekend for, yeah, jumping in after missing P1.”

Colapinto replied: “I think I made a good recovery and continued that good progression we’ve shown since Budapest.”

Argentine media outlet Carburando also suggested that Colapinto reported that he was dealing with a ‘cramp’ issue during the race, which would have made his life even more difficult.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Alpine F1 Team from team principal to lineage

Franco Colapinto appeared to be unwell after the Italian Grand Prix

Speaking after the race to the Spanish-speaking press, Colapinto admitted: “A very long, very tough race for us.

“Very lonely throughout the race and without any pace.”

“With a bit of frustration, we need to improve for the next one.”

Colapinto finished 17th, immediately behind Gasly, with the two drivers once again swapping positions as they have done regularly in recent races.

At one point, it appeared as though Colapinto had to leave the media pen as he wasn’t well, highlighting how tough he found the race at Monza.

Colapinto is fighting for his Alpine future and is still searching for his first point as an Alpine driver.

Plenty of drivers not currently on the grid would love his seat, but the gap continues to narrow to Gasly after outqualifying him again, which might be all Flavio Briatore needs to see to offer him a longer-term deal.