Belgium GP: Franco Colapinto, far in training

The Argentine pilot was 19 in the only essay of the 13th F1 date, before the classification for the Sprint.

It was not the expected start for Franco Colapinto in the Belgium GP, 13th F1 date. The Argentine pilot lived two weeks of intense work with the Alpine team at Estone’s base since the last Great Prize of Great Britain to try to harden the most vulnerable parts of its A525. However, in the only training scheduled for the weekend with Sprint career, the ex-Williams was penultimate.

Colapinto began the batch with a hard tire, like almost the entire grill and had a moment of anxiety when he passed by in the first curve. Then, he was the first to put the soft to simulate classification. Only in the sixth round with the Franco red cover, he achieved his best record of 1M44S847, a time that put it between the ten ahead (he became eighth) for a good time. But of course, everything changed when the rest was for the fastest rubber.

All began to improve their brands and The Alpine pilot fell into the classifier until the penultimate place (to 2s825 of Oscar Piastri, the fastest), which would have been the last if it was not because of Oliver Bearman’s error in his fast turn. The English had better partials than Colapinto, but he was clueless and failed to close his return.

In Alpine they already knew that Spa-Francorchamps would be a complicated track for the weaknesses of his car, because it is a very fast, low-loading. And the Renault engine pushes little. Therefore, Pierre Gasly was 17 (Yuki Tsunoda, with Red Bull, was between the two French cars), far from the tip. The problem for Colapinto is that it was almost a second of his partner (918 thousandths).

The next departure in Belgium will be for the classification of the SPRONT, the short race that will be played this Saturday.