Monza test for Alpine and Williams: Franco Colapinto’s absence from Suzuka explained. Alpine and Williams Test in Monza: why Franco Colapinto Wasn't in Suzuka.

While the Japanese GP was taking place at Suzuka, two F1 cars were also testing at Monza over the weekend. Alpine and Williams held a two-day event on Saturday and Sunday, conducting “Testing Previous Cars” with two-year-old cars for driver training.

On Saturday, Luke Browning drove the Williams FW45 and Paul Aron drove the Alpine A523, while on Sunday, Victor Martins took over the Grove car, and Franco Colapinto drove the Enstone car.

Sunday was a day for the “ex” drivers, Martins and Franco Colapinto, who found their former teams in the neighboring boxes. For both, it was also a happy return to a circuit of firsts: the Argentine driver raced here for his first Grand Prix last September, while the Frenchman did his first F1 test at this track in the spring of 2023.

Martins followed the same program as the previous day’s other tester, getting familiar with both the car and the team. While the weather conditions were not identical, the lap times from both drivers provided some insight: in the qualifying lap, Browning had a 0.13-second advantage, while Martins was more consistent and 0.12 seconds faster on race pace.

For the Frenchman, testing was crucial as he will take part in two FP1 sessions as a rookie for Williams: Victor completed nearly 450 km, about 50 km more than Browning.

Franco Colapinto, when he arrived at the track on Saturday morning, had refused selfies with fans, explaining that his presence needed to remain a secret. However, during the Sunday lunch break, he revealed the “worried secret” by posting a video of his test on social media. He then took the time to pose for photos with a few fans who had gathered (some even from Argentina) to see him.

Franco’s program was the same as Aron’s: setup work and car familiarization in the morning, qualifying runs before lunch, and long runs in the afternoon. The Argentine had the advantage of experience, so the lap times were clearly in his favor.

In the qualifying simulation, Franco Colapinto set a time 0.5 seconds faster than Aron, while on race pace, the advantage grew to 0.7 seconds per lap. The only downside to his day was a lock-up and gravel excursion at Ascari on the second lap of the first long run. The repairs to the floor kept him in the pits for over an hour: Franco completed only three of the five long runs, but by the end of the day, he had logged 540 km, compared to Aron’s 650 km, with no mistakes.