(Motorsport-Total.com) – Franco Colapinto does not yet know if he will have a regular seat in Formula 1 next year, but with his recent performances for Alpine, the Argentine is convinced that the team will give him a chance in 2027 as well. “Hopefully I don’t have to wait until the end of the season, but so far it has been a good year,” he says.
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2025 was an extremely difficult year for Colapinto. The 23-year-old stepped into the car for Jack Doohan mid-season in Imola and was unable to impress: In 18 races, he did not score a single point. Admittedly, the Alpine was the worst car last year, but teammate Pierre Gasly still managed to scrape together 22 points.
Against the Frenchman, Colapinto hardly stood a chance, but in 2026 he has improved significantly. More and more often he can keep up with Gasly and is only 5:8 behind in the internal qualifying duel (including sprint qualifying). He has also already scored 18 points this year.
“Flavio [Briatore] always says I left my brother in Argentina and didn’t bring him back this year – and the bad brother was the one from last year,” laughs the Alpine driver.
Learned a lot from difficult moments
He emphasizes that he is still the same driver as last year, but: “Of course, I have become much more mature. And I have learned a lot,” he says. Especially from the difficult moments of the previous season, he was able to take away a lot. “I firmly believe that last year made me stronger.”
“It made me a more mature driver who learns from and understands these very difficult situations. It has made me a stronger person, character-wise, as a driver … maybe,” says Colapinto.
| Race | Gasly (Q) | Colapinto (Q) | Gasly (R) | Colapinto (R) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 3 | 6 | 3 | |
| Australia | 14. | 16. (+0.769) | 10. | 14. (+1 lap) |
| China | 7. | 12. (+0.354) | 6. | 10. (+1 lap) |
| Japan | 7. | 15. (+0.753) | 7. | 16. (+33.4) |
| Miami | 9. (+0.048) | 8. | Retirement | 7. |
| Canada | 14. (+0.330) | 10. | 8. (+15.1) | 6. |
| Monaco | 9. | 14. (+0.233) | 3. | 14. (+28.6) |
| Barcelona | 14. (+0.070) | 13. | 7. | 10. (+24.1) |
| Austria | 11. | 16. (+0.948) | 13. | 15. (+26.4) |
| Great Britain | 12. | 19. (+0.976) | 10. (+0.2) | 9. |
Of course, the significantly better sporting perspective has also contributed to a better atmosphere in the team. For Colapinto, this means that he now feels much more comfortable – in the team and in the car.
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As an example, he cites the recent race in Silverstone, where he started only 19th due to a supposed problem with the floor, but overtook ten cars and still scored points. “These are the moments when I feel much stronger and more confident this year. The team has supported me a lot,” he praises.
However, he also knows that there is still significant room for improvement, as teammate Gasly can still get more out in crucial moments. “I still have a lot of room for improvement in many areas,” he admits. “But I keep working and consistently push myself. Hopefully, I can improve even further in the future.”
Alpine has fallen back a bit
He would like to continue with the French team, where so far only Gasly is confirmed for 2027. He himself has not yet talked to the team about the future. For him, there are more important things: “I just focus from race to race and try to score points.”
By the way, this has become a bit more difficult in recent weeks. While Alpine led the midfield at the start of the season and regularly scored points behind the top teams, the Racing Bulls seem to have somewhat overtaken them in this position.
“The car is currently not fast enough, and the others are catching up very quickly,” Colapinto has to admit. “I think we have been overtaken by the Racing Bulls at the moment. So we are working intensively to make things better and the car faster and to solve our problems. That is the main focus.”
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