After a difficult weekend in Austria, Franco Colapinto remains confident: How much more time will the Argentine get from Alpine?
Franco Colapinto had a frustrating race in Austria that left a lot to be desired. “I don’t know exactly what happened yet,” he said after the Grand Prix. “We had problems with the car and the balance, it just didn’t work today. The team and I didn’t find a good rhythm.”
In the end, he finished 15th and second-to-last in the race, with the Argentine struggling particularly in the middle stint when Yuki Tsunoda collided with him: “Tsunoda’s attacks set me back a lot. He drove into me and damaged my tires, which cost a lot of time. The dirty air effect also made overtaking difficult.“
Piastri pushed out: ”I just didn’t see him”
Another low point was the incident involving Oscar Piastri, who caught up with the Tsunoda-Colapinto duel and wanted to lap them. After turn three, the McLaren was already alongside Colapinto, but he pulled to the right to secure Tsunoda’s slipstream. “I was focused on Tsunoda and overlooked Piastri in my line,” he explains.
“I really wanted to get past and reacted too quickly. Yes, I was briefly shocked when I realized it was a mistake.” In the end, the move came off without any serious consequences, although the Alpine driver still received a five-second penalty for the incident.
Focus on improvement – future still open
Colapinto is at the end of his five-race evaluation phase with the team. Flavio Briatore was spotted in the Mercedes hospitality area on the sidelines of the Spielberg weekend, sparking rumors of an immediate driver change. Valtteri Bottas could possibly have a chance at Colapinto’s Alpine seat.
However, Colapinto remains confident despite the difficulties: “I feel supported, and Flavio has assured me of his confidence. We talk every day to work on my performance. The car is fast but difficult to drive and not consistent enough to give me the confidence I need in fast corners,” he explains. “We need to take a step forward as a team.”
