Franco Colapinto starts the Mexico City GP last

The Argentine made a mistake in his last attempt, but in any case the Alpine was not ready to advance to Q2. He will have to start 20th, two places behind his teammate Pierre Gasly.

Chronicle of an elimination in Q1 announced. The Q2 bar for Alpine was almost as high as the Himalayan peak. The chronic problems of the A525 will not have a solution in the remainder of the season in Enstone, they are only dedicated to crossing out the days on the calendar to reach 2026the season that will arrive with changes in the regulations and new cars and engines. From the French team they played a full match for the new year. Meanwhile, they agreed to suffer from a lack of competitiveness in 2025 and Franco Colapinto has been suffering from it in every race. Thus, the Argentine will start last in the Mexico City GP, the 20th round of the year.

Alpine opted for three attempts with soft tires with its two drivers. In the first, Colapinto was almost half a second faster than Pierre Gasly. In the second, the Frenchman composed himself and was 40 thousandths faster. When it was time for the last one, towards the end of the round, the Argentine made a mistake.

The man from Buenos Aires attacked the curbs very strongly in a fast E, a very inadvisable option for a car with such a rigid suspension. The first step upset him and he entered completely past the second. His A525 jumped, fell on the tarmac and overshot the final corner of the highway. Result: aborted attempt and canceled lap due to exceeding the limits. The failure came just at the close of the first set, in which it had been improving in the microsectors the previous time. Franco closed the qualy with 1m17s670 to remain anchored in last place.

Gasly managed to improve very little on his final lap, but it was not enough: with 1m17s546, the Frenchman will have to start 18th. Lance Stroll, with his Aston Martin, got into the middle of the Alpine duo and will start 19th.

Without the error, Colapinto could have avoided starting 20th, but it would not be enough to get into Q2. The speed shown by the A525 on Friday and in the third training session on Saturday were the preannouncement of a certain end. From there, and with the weakness of his car, he will be able to do little in the race. The most important thing is not to make mistakes like the one in qualifying to avoid another look of annoyance from Flavio Briatore like the one seen on the Mexican Saturday. Especially these days, when the announcement of Gasly’s partner for 2026 is coming and all roads point to Franco. Alpine confirmed to AM850.com that the announcement will be in November. There are only a few days left.