Franco Colapinto arrives in the United States as Alpine continues its evaluation

The Austin weekend will be a sprint race and the Argentine will strive to get the best out of his A525. In November it will be known who will be the team’s second driver for 2026.

Franco Colapinto arrives at the United States GP, 19th date of 2024, in full stoppage time. The Argentine is waiting for Alpine’s announcement about the second driver for 2026, something that It will only be known in the course of November, as confirmed to AM850.comalthough there is no estimated date. Maybe it will come in Brazil, the almost home race for the Buenos Aires native.

Colapinto’s chances are based on the notable improvement he showed since the Hungarian GP and, of course, on the financial support that comes from the companies that support him. The combo raises expectations in the Argentine camp, who, as confirmed by Flavio Briatore (the boss of the French team), has Paul Aron as a rival. The Estonian is the current reserve driver for Enstone.

In recent days, Toto Wolff, director of Mercedes, deactivated the chance that Kimi Antonelli could stop at Alpine. The young Italian lived a season from great to little in his debut in F1 as a starter and his name began to sound strongly as a possible occupant of a seat in a partner of the Silver Arrows. It is worth clarifying that, in 2026, Alpine will have engines from the German giant and the Bolognese racer could also arrive in the power unit combo. “The speculation about Alpine and Williams is complete nonsense. He will stay here in 2026 100%,” said the Austrian priest.

The Arrows will continue with the same formation next season (George Russell and Kimi) waiting for 2027, the year in which Wolff could close once and for all his already eternal flirtation with Max Verstappen. If the four-time champion does not feel comfortable or finds himself with an uncompetitive Red Bull under the new regulations that will come into force in 2026, he could pack his bag and look for another destination.

Colapinto replaced Jack Doohan since the Emilia-Romagna GP and had a hard time getting the hang of the unruly and weak A525. After seven weekends with more suffering than joy (in fact, he didn’t even start at Silverstone due to car problems) and with some sparks, The lift came from the Hungaroring race, always in the weak context of Alpine. Franco is the only driver on the current grid who did not score and with the signs that his car gives in each race, his chances of starting from zero are based more on other people’s problems than on his own potential.. But in this state of lack of competitiveness, from Budapest onwards he found the rhythm and surpassed Pierre Gasly, his experienced teammate.

It is also true that in Singapore the Frenchman was testing some elements to try to improve the final stretch of a very bad year. Colapinto was eloquent after the Singapore race when talking about the level of the Alpine: “It was a very frustrating race. I put a lot of effort into it, but nothing comes out. We are going very slowly. At times the car is unmanageable. I don’t understand why we are going so slow, so much slower than others. Frustrating and bad race, very slow.”

These last performances positioned him better within Alpine. This is how it arrives in Austin, where this weekend the United States GP will be held, which will also be the fourth date of the year with a sprint race. The Argentine will have a double opportunity to wait for a miracle and scratch some point. Last year he was tenth in the main competition with Williams, but he had other potential.

“We haven’t had the easiest time in the last few races, but as a team, we remain focused on learning as much as possible every time we go out on the track. I am confident that there are races coming up that will suit us better and we will do everything possible to be in contention and try to score points between now and the end of the year,” said Colapinto. in statements published by the team. “I spent some time at Enstone last week to review the weekend and prepare for the next stage in America, starting in Austin. The Circuit of the Americas is an incredible track to drive and, being a sprint weekend, it will be fantastic to have two opportunities to race,” Colapinto completed, in full stoppage time.