Qatar GP: the penultimate season of 2025 for Franco Colapinto

After the difficult weekend in Las Vegas, the Argentine arrives in Lusail looking to regain the rhythm and speed that he lacked in the two previous events.

Franco Colapinto had put together six consecutive Grands Prix with good speed and rhythm, of course, within the context of Alpine’s extreme weakness.. From Hungary onwards, the Argentine had matched and even defeated, in several sessions, Pierre Gasly, his teammate. However, that firm ride suffered some cracks in Mexico and the creaks became louder and more evident in San Pablo and Las Vegas.

In the Interlagos race, the strong blow in the sprint was added, which forced a change of chassis and to the use of spare parts available at this time of the year, with the budget ceiling already close to the limit and with our mind set on the next season. In Las Vegas he had a very complicated weekend, in every sense. The cold track with little grip (in itself, an endemic problem of the A525) complicated Colapinto from the start. Then came the deluge of qualifying that allowed him to get into Q2 and into the race, Alex Albon’s early hit from behind conditioned the aerodynamic load for the rest of the competition. In all that complex combo, however, Franco seemed slow compared to his French teammate.

In the 2025 Formula 1 agenda there are two chapters left to close the shutter definitively. Colapinto acknowledged to AM850.com in Brazil that he already wanted 2026 to arrive, once its continuity has been confirmed and waiting for the new car (under the regulations that will come into force next season) and with the push of the Mercedes-Benz power unit. But for that he will have to wait and fulfill the two final commitments, the first, this weekend in Qatar.

The weather will be completely different from Las Vegas. Lusail awaits you with days without a chance of rain and with a maximum of 29 degrees for Friday, the hottest day. On Sunday, 27 are expected, of course, but the race is at night and the minimum for that day will be around 18. Colapinto’s objective will be to try to redirect his pace and return to the period of constant pace and speed and at the command of Gasly.

“The weekend in Las Vegas was a challenge for me. The conditions were interesting throughout the weekend, with low temperatures and rain during some sessions. This made driving very difficult, especially in qualifying, where we managed to get through to Q2 in the rain and with very little grip. My race on Saturday was compromised when we suffered damage to the rear of the car during the chaos of the first corner and it was difficult to recover. There is still a lot to learn from the Las Vegas race and we will do an analysis before Qatar to reflect on how we can make the most of the last two rounds,” said Colapinto in the preview in statements published by the Enstone team.

“The different conditions in Qatar will be important over the weekend, especially as the track is also high speed. Also, it is the last sprint event of the season, so it is important that we have good practice and everything is ready immediately. “We are ready to give everything and compete in the penultimate round of the season,” he added.