Franco Colapint
After the F1 holidays, this weekend returns the World Cup action with the 15th date that will be played in Zandvoort. The next ten dates will be key to the future of the Argentine.
The days of Mediterranean, Sun and Rest for Formula 1 drivers were over after two weeks with closed factories, as the FIA for the rest of the employees, Formula 1 takes up its 76th season with the dispute of the 15th date, which will be played this weekend in the Netherlands. There will be Franco Colapint with his Alpine In search of channeling a season of lean results, beyond some spark of rhythm.
“I had a great time during the holidays. I could spend quality time with my family and friends, enjoying the Mediterranean climate. I also concentrated a lot on my training and my physical condition, and I am ready to return to the track and start the second half of the season,” said Colapinto in statements published by the Eastone team.
Franco’s future beyond the closing of this season is an unknown. In fact, the French team will continue its career evaluation with the Argentine and the first objective will be to stay in the alignment until the end of the year, with the presence of Paul Aron waiting. Colapinto has an interesting economic contribution for the TEAM coffers, but results are also needed. While the team is the worst of the grill, and its position in the World Cup of Constructors is the Cabal show, the Buenos Aires is the only pilot of the 20 headlines that did not add points.
Collapint had to fight with its A525 lack of competitiveness, to which he had to get used to and, as if that were not enough, he also had to dance with problems in the preparation of cars (a clear weakness of the team that Pierre Gasly also suffered) and with inconveniences in the boxes. A complex combo, but it is also true that in that general context Gasly managed to reap the 20 points Alpine has in 2025.
FRanco showed a good pace in some moments of the season, as in Hungary, the race that closed the first stage of the seasonjust before the start of the holidays. There, it managed to be faster than Gasly, and that is positive for the actions of the Argentine. But far from that brilliant appearance in Williams in 2024 and led Flavio Briatore to recruit him for Alpine’s ranks. For the team it is necessary, within the poor performance, to maximize the options, as Gasly achieved, because when they pass the cap at the end of the year for the distribution of awards, the silver does not arrive due to telemetry or rhythm data, but for results.
The confirmation of Czech Pérez and Valtteri Bottas as the owner of Cadillac by 2026 (the General Motors brand will be the 11th team of the grid) was, without a doubt, a comforting news for Colapinto. Both the Mexican and the Finn had sounded strong to take his place in Alpine. In fact, even Toto Wolff, director of Mercedes, acknowledged having kept talks with Briatore. With Czech and Bottas crossed out in the race by Alpine, Colapinto can have more air, but its future will depend on its results, beyond the employment of the rest.
“The team worked very hard during the season until now, something I am grateful for, and everyone deserved a break. Now we focused on the last two rounds of the European season, before starting a series of racing outside. The Netherlands are a very dear place for me, since I spent most of my youth career running for Dutch teams: Van Amersfoort Racing and MP Motorsport. I really like Zandvoort as a circuit. In fact, I did tests there earlier this year with the team in the 2023 car during our TPC program, which was one of my first with Alpine. This weekend is also a year since my debut in Formula 1, so it is very special. It was a roller coaster since then, with many ups and downs. But everything will be for good in my development, ”Franco added.
For Alpine it will be the last race without the presence of a team director, a vacancy from the untimely resignation of Oliver Oakes after the Miami GP and de facto busy by BriTore. Next Monday Steve Nielsen will assume, English with 40 years of experience in F1, who already worked next to Italian in Benetton in the 90s and Renault in the first decade of the 21st century. Nielsen will be the man in charge of the day to day and his task will be key for the two A525 to arrive well prepared to the races. Not with developments, because that chapter was never in the East Team folder for 2025; The goal is 2026, the year in which the new technical regulations will enter into force. But Alpine urgently requires a daily helmsman. Although Nielsen was confirmed in July, he cannot assume until September 1 for the stop period required for someone who has occupied a recent position within the World Cup (he worked for the FIA).
Zandvoort is the first of the ten stations that remain in the 2025 World Cup and the starting point for Colapinto to start maximizing the options you have. Maintaining the good pace of Hungaroring will be a good start, but the results must start arriving. “The climate seems quite unstable, so we will seek to take advantage of any opportunity to achieve a positive result when the season resume,” said the Argentine. He is the first who knows that the results send.
