Franco Colapinto sends defiant message amid rapid Alpine improvement

Franco Colapinto has explained how Alpine's resurgence in F1 this season has made him "happier" and feeling "more confident" compared to the torrid campaign the team endured last year.

In 2025, Team Enstone found itself comfortably at the rear of the field for much of the schedule after it made the decision to prioritise the new regulations era.

And whilst Pierre Gasly, in the other car, was able to pick up points on a handful of occasions, Colapinto — who inherited his seat from Jack Doohan six rounds into the season — was unable to get off the mark.

But now, Alpine's decision is already paying dividends. Just three rounds into the campaign, it has already claimed 16 points, just six shy of the 22 achieved across the whole of last year.

Now under the power of Mercedes, with the team having forgone its works status, Colapinto clinched his first point since his Williams days at the Chinese Grand Prix — and it would have been more had it not been for an incident caused by Esteban Ocon.

Reflecting on how different his situation feels compared to last season, the Argentine driver highlighted how the A526 has further motivated him.

"I'm happier, of course," he told media, including RacingNews365. "When you can fight a bit further up, it makes you feel more confident, makes you give that extra little bit in different situations.

"I think when you are so close to Q3, when you're in the fight, it is different. Last year, unfortunately, we didn't have that.

"This year, it's looking much better, and of course, the car did steps, and it's looking much closer to the other teams."

Defiant message

Colapinto has also had to race with some slightly different specification parts on his Alpine over the past two rounds, due to an issue detected at the rear of his car at the Shanghai International Circuit.

Alpine has clarified the situation, and it may account for some of the deficit between him and Gasly, but the 22-year-old is closing the performance gap and is nonetheless extremely positive about what is to come.

"I think also knowing that we have a lot of performance coming, or that we see many different things to improve, it's also really positive," he said.

"When you are up there, and you know that you've got many things to fix and to improve, it's even better.

"So, I think looking forward to this year, it's feeling more competitive, and that makes you happier, and of course, we want to be fighting for points consistently, which is what we are looking for and trying to aim at."