(Motorsport-Total.com) – Alpine driver Franco Colapinto is one of the positive surprises of the 2026 Formula 1 season: After the 23-year-old Argentine scored no points last year, he has already made several statements this season and has collected a total of 16 World Championship points.
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At the Miami Grand Prix, Colapinto finished seventh, and at the Canadian Grand Prix he even achieved the best Formula 1 result of his career so far with sixth place. The Alpine driver also scored a point each in China and Barcelona.
How can this upswing be explained? “Of course, a lot has changed,” the Argentine recalls. “There is a new car, new rules, everything is completely different, and the way I started this year was the opposite of last year, but also of 2024.”
As a reminder: Last year, Jack Doohan initially sat in the Alpine cockpit before being replaced by Colapinto after six races. “I had a full pre-season test [this year],” adds the teammate of Pierre Gasly. “And in general, I have felt very comfortable in the car since the beginning of the year.”
Franco Colapinto “feels much more comfortable in the car”
“Although we were not as fast in the first races as we would have liked, I felt much more comfortable in the car, much more in harmony, much more connected with the car. And that was the biggest difference for me.”
“I had this pretty strong feeling that I was at a good point, even if the pace was not quite there yet,” Colapinto looks back on the first races of the season. “We put a lot of work into understanding the reasons for that, and when it clicked, everything became much easier.”
“I think it has been a year so far in which I have been much more consistent in terms of performance in every single session. That is going much better than last year, and that comes from the confidence and well-being I have in the team this year.”
Alpine is more competitive in 2026 than last year
A decisive factor is also that the Alpine A526 is more competitive than its predecessor, especially since the longer break between Japan and Miami. “The team has made a huge effort to bring new parts: a new rear wing for Pierre in Miami, then for me in Canada,” says Colapinto.
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“In Canada, we also had a new floor, which also helped. And that obviously made a difference. A new chassis for Miami was also a big effort by the team. All these things really helped put me in a better position and find a bit more pace.”
Since the Miami Grand Prix, Colapinto has been driving with a different chassis, which has brought some advantages. “We are making an enormous effort in the factory to build a car that is competitive but also consistent,” says the Argentine.
The 23-year-old wanted a “car that you can drive lap after lap in the same way, without getting completely different reactions from one corner to the next. That is still improving. But that was exactly what we lacked last year: consistency.”
Alpine is moving “in the right direction”
“We got different reactions from one lap to the next and from one corner to the next,” the Alpine driver looks back. “This year, the car feels much more like a unit. You can push more, and it just feels more natural to drive.”
Last year, Colapinto struggled especially with the massive bouncing of the car and traction problems, which caused him to lose a lot of downforce. “These things no longer occur as frequently this year,” he says. “All in all, it has become a car that can be driven much more consistently.”
“Last year it was very difficult to bring everything together in one lap and get the maximum out of the car – with the setup and with the driving style. This year it shows that this succeeds much more often.” However, not often enough yet, as the 23-year-old collected only one World Championship point in Monaco, Barcelona, and Spielberg combined.
“I think our goal is to score points consistently,” says Colapinto. “That’s why we are moving in the right direction. Of course, we still have to put in more work, and we still have a lot of potential for improvement on the car and in many other areas. But it is a good direction.”
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