Franco Colapinto receives Alpine prediction after 'slow burner' label

Alpine boss Steve Nielsen believes "slow burner" Franco Colapinto will be able to step up his performances in the coming F1 season.

Colapinto was drafted into the uncompetitive 2025 Alpine machine from the Emilia Romagna GP after Jack Doohan was stood down from driving duties, but the Argentine failed to score a point. 

His best result was 11th place in the Netherlands, and he was, on average, 0.315s slower than team leader Pierre Gasly in qualifying across the 18 races they shared.

Colapinto enjoyed a bright start to his F1 career with Williams in 2024, scoring points in two of his first four races, including a career-best eighth in his second grand prix in Azerbaijan after his Monza debut. 

However, saddled with the 2025 Alpine machine, he was unable to add to that tally, although, following the change from a works Renault to a customer Mercedes supply of power units, Nielsen believes that more of Colapinto's talent can be unlocked in the coming season, with Alpine expecting to be challenging at the head of F1's midfield.

"It is no secret that last year's car had some inherent problems in it, and we've absolutely fixed some of those with this car, which is great," Nielsen told media, including RacingNews365. 

"The drivers can take a lot more kerb, and they're not complaining about the ride, but I guess that's because we're not in the ground effects era anymore, so some big handicaps are fixed.

"Franco is a talent, and I think that perhaps he is a slow burner, and perhaps he is developing slower than some of the others, but last year, we saw him produce some good races, particularly in comparison to Pierre.

"Unfortunately, that was our only comparison for some races last year because we were at the back, but now I think Franco will get better with time.

"We're already seeing it, and if we've given him a better car, which I am sure we have, then we'll see the best of him."