The Argentine struggles to shine
Franco Colapinto has passed the halfway point of the available races, and the European triple-header at Imola, Monaco, and Spain has not brought much satisfaction to the Argentine driver, who had started well behind the wheel of the Williams when he was surprisingly promoted to a race seat in place of the disappointing Logan Sargeant.
Franco Colapinto scored points and kept pace with Alexander Albon but has not been able to do the same at Alpine. The direct comparison with Pierre Gasly in qualifying at Imola was decisively won by the Frenchman (Franco Colapinto also crashed hard into the wall at the end of Q1). Monaco was an atypical and difficult weekend to assess, but in Barcelona, on a ‘standard’ track, Franco Colapinto was once again clearly beaten by Gasly, although it should not be forgotten that the Argentine had technical issues at the end of Q1. Gasly finished the race in eighth position, scoring points for the second time this season, but Alpine is last in the Constructors’ Championship, five points behind the Sauber-Aston Martin duo—a significant gap.
Alpine risks realistically finishing the year at the bottom of the Constructors’ standings, a prospect that Flavio Briatore obviously cannot accept. Speaking to Sky Sport Deutschland, he did not hide his disappointment: “If I said I am satisfied with Franco Colapinto, I would be lying,” Falvio Briatore said. “I don’t want to hear about the number of races left; what matters is performance. If a driver delivers results, he keeps the seat. Barcelona was supposed to be the race where he should have shown some signs.” Nico Rosberg added that he wouldn’t want to be in Franco Colapinto’s shoes right now: “Franco is not in Falvio Briatore’s good books after these races. Flavio is really extreme, and if you don’t perform, you’re forgotten. Mentally, this is a very tough challenge for Franco Colapinto to overcome.”
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