Alpine boss wants to allow Colapinto ‘time to mature and deliver’ in F1

18:01, 12 Jan

Updated: 18:11, 12 Jan

byDrew Murphy

Alpine managing director Steve Nielsen believes Franco Colapinto needs time “for that talent to mature and deliver” as the Argentine prepares for his first full Formula 1 season in 2026.

Colapinto got his first experience of F1 when he replaced Logan Sargeant at Williams halfway through the 2024 season.

He got off to a great start, reaching Q3 and scoring his first points in just his second race and followed it up with another top-10 finish the following weekend at the United States Grand Prix.

Colapinto was not selected to race for Williams in 2025, but was ultimately selected by Alpine to replace Jack Doohan at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in May 2025.

The Argentine was unable to replicate his good form seen at Williams and finished the 2025 season without scoring a point for Alpine.

Steve Nielsen: Race Pictures

Alpine keep faith

2025 was a hugely disappointing and challenging campaign for Alpine, as the team finished last in the constructors’ championship with just 22 points.

Despite this, the Enstone-based outfit have renewed their faith in Colapinto for 2026, allowing the driver to contest a full campaign from the outset, crucially with an entire pre-season.

Nielsen has valued what the 22-year-old showed during last season and has outlined his expectations for 2026.

Speaking to the media at the 2025 Abu Shabi season finale, Nielsen said: “Franco is a young driver. We’ve seen other young drivers go through good and difficult periods; he’s on that journey.

Franco Colapinto. Photo: Race Pictures

“There were races earlier in the year when he was a match for Pierre [Gasly], and on a couple of occasions, maybe even faster than Pierre in the races.

“He’s on that journey, and we’ll give him all the support he needs to be as quick as he can be, whether that’s faster than Pierre or close to Pierre.

“The important thing for us is to have two drivers scoring in the championship.

“We’ve suffered a bit this year: only one car scored points, and not enough with that one either, while the other car scored zero points with two different drivers in it.

“We need stability in the second car, and we need to give time for that talent to mature and deliver points for us. You need two drivers.”

Gambled early in 2025

Alpine made the decision early to halt development of the A525 early in the year to focus on the new 2026 regulations, while rivals continued to introduce updates to their cars.

This meant that the team endured a difficult latter part of the season.

Steve Nielsen. Photo: RacePictures.

Both Gasly and Colapinto were left more often than not fighting towards the back of the field, with the team scoring points in just one race, Brazil, across the final 11 grands prix of the season.

Nielsen added: “I think the brutal reality is that our car was not fast enough to score points.

“I think both drivers we have now are better than the car.

“On the few occasions when the car has been good enough to fight around the points, we had one in Brazil, where Pierre qualified reasonably well and raced reasonably well, and another in Vegas where we were okay.

“When the car is good, both drivers are more than capable of delivering what the car allows.

“We need to make a much better car, a much better car, and then we’ll see if the drivers are capable of going with it.”

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