Franco Colapinto: “There were three difficult races”

The Argentine pilot spoke in the previous GP of Canada, tenth F1 date, and explained how the Triplet Emilia.Romagna, Monaco and Spain, his first races with the Alpine team. In addition, he explained that he waits for Montreal’s layout.

Franco Colapinto knows better than anyone than the first three races with Alpine were difficult. The leap to ownership, replacing Jack Doohan, arrived in the seventh race of the 2025 season at the Emilia-Romagna GP. The accident he suffered at the closing of the Q1 did not add for his personal actions (quite the opposite) and allowed the entire weekend. Then Monaco arrived, a separate competition, in which it is difficult to perform an analysis. Flavio Briatore, a strong man of the Estone team, warned that the first test of scrutiny to the work of the Argentine would be in the GP of Spain. And Franco didn’t have it easy.

At the outset, he suffered with the reliability of A525. A hydraulic escape left him unable to turn in the last 15 minutes of the first batch and, already in the second, he did not show up. The highest peak of its weekend performance (and from its jump to the headline of Alpine) was on Catalan Saturday. The Buenos Aires was quickly and in the times of Pierre Gasly, his partner, and the advance to Q2 seemed judged. But again his car failed. This time, a transmission problem, which left him without chances of going out to look for that last attempt. Delayed at 18 starting positionthe race was tortuous. Without rhythm, especially with the middle tires, and in times very inconstant. Only in the last handful of turns, with new soft covers, he managed to get into a faster pace.

With those three races in the backpack, Franco Colapinthis fourth with Alpine, with the aim of finding more comfort with the car and good feelings from the start of the weekend on a track unknown to him (he will be one of the six pilots who never ran in the semi -permanent of Montreal). The Buenos Aires participated in the official press conference (he shared the living room with Lewis Hamilton and Lance Stroll) and asked him about that triplet of competitions. “They were difficult, they were not as I expected. I imagined progressing a little more after Icola, but it is always difficult to return to F1 after six races without being running. There are pilots who learned a lot about the management of tires and when you are not driving, it is a bit complicated. That’s why I think it was really good this break, this free week to return with the team, gather and understand the problemsWhat we have to do better, where we lacked rhythm and where I can improve too. So it was good. I think it was a good rest and I hope you improve performance. Participating in a triplet is always difficult because you don’t have enough time to change things. I was used to something so different that I didn’t give me enough time between races to reflect and learn and understand exactly what we have to do, ”said Franco.

Asked about the similarities or differences between Alpine and Williams (brand with which he ran nine races in 2024), Colapinto said: “It is very different. When I arrived at Williams last year I had never driven another Formula 1 car, nor an old There are some things that are different, the car is very different from driving too, and I am simply updating with that and trying to understand what is the fastest way to do it. ”

Asked what awaits Canada’s career, he said: “Adding points would be great. I think, if we can get a little more about the performance of the car, that I am sure it has, I would be very happy, so I think we first have to start by getting where we need to focus on us and then think about the rest.”

Colapint Three free training are enough to familiarize yourself with the circuit. Of course, to achieve fast pace it will be very useful because we have a lot to try and we need that time in the trials. So I hope we can quickly achieve rhythm and then see what happens. But yes, it is like an urban circuit, and that always gives us a little more emotion as pilots. And, in the end, to handle an F1 here, in such a historical and imposing circuit in the history of sport, is great. ”