The Argentinian driver made a strong entrance into Formula 1 with Williams at the end of the 2024 season. With two points finishes in his first four starts and a few other good performances, Franco Colapinto was highly sought after heading into 2025. Though he was unable to secure a full-time drive, the 23-year-old signed on as a reserve for Alpine.
Colapinto quickly took over full-time from Jack Doohan, but he found little to no improvement over his predecessor. He scored zero points throughout the 2025 season and faced significant pressure to perform from both his own team and the media.
When it came time to determine the driver lineup for 2026, Flavio Briatore still chose to stick with Colapinto, despite his struggles. A potential reason may have been the amount of sponsorship money that comes with his presence.
Franco Colapinto has changed the narrative
2026 has been a great year for Colapinto through five race weekends. He has recorded three points finishes thus far, and he reached his career-best finish of P7 in Miami before outdoing himself in Montreal with another career-high of P6. He has shown the world that he is so much better than what we saw from him in 2025.
The Argentine’s turnaround has been so stunning that even Briatore has completely changed his opinion. Prior to the Spanish Grand Prix a year ago, the Alpine team boss fueled speculation regarding whether Colapinto would even finish out the season. Now, Briatore sees his potential as a long-term answer as he continues his strong season.
Alpine have become one of the midfield leaders this season, largely by ditching their in-house Renault engines in favor of Mercedes power units. As a result, they sit comfortably in P5 of the constructor championship. The boost in performance has been a factor in Colapinto being able to show not only his skill but also his consistency. Can he keep this up and turn himself into a regular on the Formula 1 grid for several years to come?
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