Franco Colapinto has improved significantly compared to 2025 and therefore sees himself in a strong position for 2027 when it comes to securing a new contract
Franco Colapinto still doesn’t know whether he’ll have a full-time seat in Formula 1 next year, but given his recent performances for Alpine, the Argentine is confident that the team will give him another chance in 2027. “Hopefully I won’t have to wait until the end of the season, but so far it’s been a good year,” he says.
2025 was an extremely difficult year for Colapinto. The 23-year-old stepped into the car for Jack Doohan midway through the season at Imola but failed to impress there: He didn’t score a single point in 18 races. Admittedly, the Alpine was the worst car last year, but his teammate Pierre Gasly had at least managed to scrape together 22 points.
Colapinto was no match for the Frenchman, but in 2026 he has improved significantly. He’s increasingly able to keep up with Gasly and trails him by just 5:8 in their internal qualifying duel (including Sprint Qualifying). He’s 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 that the ‘bad brother’ was the one from last year,” laughs the Alpine driver.
Learned a Lot from Difficult Moments
He emphasizes that he’s still the same driver he was last year, but: “Of course, I’ve matured a lot. And I’ve learned a lot,” he says. He says he was able to take a great deal away from the difficult moments of the previous season in particular. “I firmly believe that last year made me stronger.”
“It’s made me a more mature driver who learns from and understands these very difficult situations. That’s made me a stronger person, in terms of character, as a driver… maybe,” says Colapinto.
Of course, the significantly better competitive outlook has also contributed to a better atmosphere within the team. For Colapinto, this means he now feels much more comfortable—both within the team and in the car.
He cites the recent race at Silverstone as an example, where he started in 19th place after a suspected underbody issue but went on to pass ten cars and still finish in the points. “It’s moments like these that make me feel much stronger and more confident this year. The team has been very supportive,” he says.
But he also knows there’s still significant room for improvement, as his teammate Gasly can still get even more out of the car in crucial moments. “I still have a lot of room for improvement in many areas,” he admits. “But I’m continuing to work hard and consistently pushing myself. Hopefully, I can improve even further in the future.”
Alpine has fallen back a bit
He’d be happy to stay with the French team, where so far only Gasly has been confirmed for 2027. He himself hasn’t yet discussed his future with the team. For him, there are more important things: “I’m just focusing on one race at a time and trying to score points.”
Incidentally, that’s 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 edged them out of that position somewhat.
“The car isn’t fast enough right now, and the others are catching up to us very quickly,” Colapinto admits. “I think we’ve been overtaken by the Racing Bulls at the moment. So we’re working hard to improve things, make the car faster, and solve our problems. That’s the main focus.”
