Franco Colapinto Reveals What Alpine’s F1 Car Still Lacks

Franco Colapinto is preparing for his second Formula 1 race weekend with Alpine as the 2025 season heads to Monaco. The 21-year-old Argentinian stepped into Alpine’s F1 car last week at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in Imola.

He finished 16th after an early crash in qualifying and a yellow flag ended his bid to climb higher in the race. Colapinto’s Imola weekend was challenging, bringing limited points but plenty of data as he adapts to racing with his new team.

Colapinto explained that he is still searching for confidence in the Alpine A525, especially on a tough street circuit like Monaco. These types of tracks require a driver to be precise and have absolute faith in the car. For more on the unique challenges of street circuits, check out this FIA guide on circuit design.

He highlighted that, so far, most of his experience has come from simulator work and private testing with old Alpine models. In total, Colapinto has spent only about four hours racing the 2025 car in real competition, while most of the grid has already completed seven races this season.

Gaining confidence with each session is his focus. Colapinto spoke about how routines in practice help drivers push closer to the car’s limits.

He recalled that during his first race weekend with Alpine, he felt far off the pace at the start of FP1, but lap by lap, he managed to get closer to his targets by the end of practice three. The young driver stressed there is no single weak spot to blame.

Rather, it is about accumulating laps and gaining the experience that comes from spending time in the car against the competition. Colapinto has yet to race on a street circuit like Monaco, Baku, or Singapore with Alpine’s F1 team.

He said these venues test the driver’s confidence, since close walls leave no room for error. He expects that with each lap during Monaco’s free practices, his trust in the car will improve.

The only solution, he noted, is to keep driving and learning from both mistakes and progress as the season continues. Reflecting on his move from Williams to Alpine, Colapinto noted how every team and car brings different characteristics.

Sharing his approach, he likened his journey to experienced drivers like Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz, who also need time to adapt whenever they change teams despite having driven at the highest level for years. For more on driver adaptation, see this MIT study on motor skill learning.

The Argentinian driver also touched on social media behavior and the role of fans. He commented on the recent online abuse directed at his colleagues Jack Doohan and Yuki Tsunoda, particularly after incidents in Imola.

Colapinto asked supporters to stay passionate but respectful, emphasizing the importance of positive fan engagement and discouraging hateful messages. He pointed out that while emotion is a big part of motorsport, respect cannot be forgotten. For insights on fostering positive fan culture, visit the International Olympic Committee’s guidelines on sportsmanship.

Colapinto’s immediate aim is to make progress in Monaco by focusing on clean sessions, learning with every lap, and closing the gap to his more experienced rivals. As the season advances, he hopes extra seat time and more race weekends will help him deliver stronger qualifying and race performances for Alpine.

The Monaco Grand Prix weekend is set to be a key challenge, with Colapinto ready to build step by step on one of Formula 1’s most famous circuits. For a deeper dive into Monaco’s racing history, explore Monaco’s official Grand Prix archives.