Crucial reason revealed behind remarkable Franco Colapinto surge

Former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer has outlined the one-month break between Japan and Miami as the crucial reason behind Franco Colapinto's recent surge, following the opportunity for a complete "reset".

Colapinto made an underwhelming start to the season, scoring just one point across the opening three rounds before finding incredible form in Miami and Canada.

The Argentinian driver has made back-to-back Q3 appearances and scored 14 points in two races, with his performances having been far stronger than those of team-mate Pierre Gasly.

Crucially, in Miami and Canada, Colapinto received upgrades already fitted to Gasly's car, which have helped him suddenly become comfortable with Alpine's A526.

While this has worked in the 23-year-old's favour, Palmer believes the power of a complete reset cannot be underestimated.

Asked what has led to Colapinto's rapid improvement, Palmer said on the F1 Nation podcast: "I don't think he quite knows. I spoke to him after the race; he came on our show, and he said that the month off between Japan and Miami was great, just to have a bit of a reset.

"He said he was driving okay at the start of the year but clearly was chasing it compared to Pierre, who was completely hooked up.

"They brought some parts to the car in Miami, and he just seems to be feeling the grip, understanding it, happy to lean on the car, making fewer mistakes, finding more pace. Sometimes just a bit of time off and you come back with a fresh mindset—it does work.

"The car changed a little bit, and he is doing a tremendous job."

Colapinto's special visit home

During the one-month break between Japan and Miami, created by the cancellation of races in Bahrain and Jeddah, Colapinto returned home to Buenos Aires for a very special event.

He drove an F1 car in a demonstration run in his home nation in front of 600,000 people, something Palmer also believes helped him enormously.

Palmer added: "Sometimes just literally taking your mind away. So, having that month off, you don't think about Formula 1 the whole time; you get to just reset, just chill out, and you go and get praised by 600,000 people.

"You do rock in; you get a different perspective. You're not entrenched in, 'Oh, this is all tough. Oh, Pierre's the guy.' You come in and think, 'Hang on, no. I'm shoulders back. I can do this.'

"It is great to have a reset."