Franco Colapinto close to first F1 points as Alpine future remains uncertain. Franco Colapinto finished just outside the points at the Dutch GP.

Franco Colapinto, one step away from points and from staying with Alpine

The doubts surrounding Franco Colapinto’s future in Formula 1 were one of the main talking points at the start of the Dutch Grand Prix weekend, fueled by statements from Flavio Briatore. Yet after Sunday’s race, it was Briatore himself who called it “a very good race, probably the strongest of the season so far.”

Colapinto’s Dutch Grand Prix weekend

Franco Colapinto finished in 11th place, less than half a second behind Esteban Ocon, who on the final lap was fighting with Yuki Tsunoda for ninth. The Argentine therefore came closer than ever to scoring points in the nine races he has contested with Alpine since replacing Jack Doohan at Imola last May.

Although he did not secure the top 10 finish that would have been crucial to guaranteeing his Alpine future, the result still marks a positive step ahead of a decisive series of races. When Briatore brought him in as Doohan’s replacement, he had asked for three things: to be fast, to avoid mistakes, and to score points for the team.

So far, Franco Colapinto has not fully delivered on the second and third expectations, which explains Briatore’s harsh comments at the start of the Zandvoort weekend: “I’m not happy because this is not what I expect from Colapinto.”

Those words likely weighed on the young driver, who responded with solid pace in the Netherlands even if results did not go his way. He was eliminated in Q1 with 16th place, 0.210s slower than teammate Pierre Gasly. However, the gap was largely influenced by heavy traffic in the final sector, which cost him more than the 0.067s that separated him from a place in Q2.

After qualifying, Franco Colapinto did not hide his disappointment. Onboard analysis confirmed he had reason to complain about the turbulence caused by the cars of Carlos Sainz and Oliver Bearman, although there were no grounds for an impeding investigation. It was the kind of situation typical of tracks like Zandvoort or Monaco, where avoiding the racing line is extremely difficult and traffic can heavily affect performance. Franco Colapinto was convinced that with a Q2 appearance he could have matched Gasly’s pace and perhaps challenged him, since the Frenchman had not enjoyed a perfect session either.

What happened in the race?

Starting on soft tyres, Franco Colapinto took advantage of a small mistake from Gasly at the penultimate corner to move into 14th place. Team orders quickly reversed the positions, as the Argentine struggled more with the soft compound while Gasly was comfortable on mediums — a logical choice to maximize Alpine’s team chances. Colapinto pitted on lap 19 for hard tyres, just before the first safety car period, which cost him the chance to benefit from an undercut strategy.

He rejoined behind Lance Stroll and the Haas-Ocon/Bearman group he had overtaken earlier. He quickly gained two positions following the collision between Carlos Sainz and Liam Lawson, climbing to 15th, then another when Fernando Alonso stopped for a second time as the safety car was deployed again.

After the long wait for the restart — which frustrated him given his grip advantage — Colapinto had four laps to make a difference. On the second lap of racing, Esteban Ocon overtook him at Turn 1 by taking Gasly’s slipstream and then completed the move at Turn 2. Franco Colapinto stayed close but ran out of laps to respond: he crossed the line in 12th, promoted to 11th after Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s penalty.

“It was a good race. We were very close to my first point with the team, so it’s very disappointing. I expected to get it, but we just missed out. There are also positives, though. I don’t think we could have managed our race any better,” Colapinto admitted after the finish.

He added that “in the end we didn’t maximize our teamwork,” referring to the time spent stuck behind Gasly. However, Alpine did not place any blame: Gasly followed team instructions, and at the restart it would have been too risky to let his teammate through on such a narrow track.

In theory, Franco Colapinto could have gained some time, but managing these group situations is never straightforward. What remains is that he came close to the points and showed solidity — qualities that will weigh heavily on his Formula 1 future.

Monza, the next big test

Now the focus shifts to Monza, a circuit where Colapinto impressed last year when he made his Formula 1 debut with Williams. This time he will arrive with more experience and with Alpine data to work from. The Dutch Grand Prix provided a solid base, and if he can maintain consistency, he will strengthen his chances of staying with Alpine until the end of the season — or even into 2026. Everything will depend on the results he can achieve in the coming races.