Despite securing P9 at the 2026 F1 British GP, Franco Colapinto shared that Alpine’s race was one of “damage limitation” after Racing Bulls proved to be quicker.
The Enstone-based team started on the back foot after failing to score points in the Sprint Race and lining up P16 and P19 for Sunday’s race. Colapinto’s P19 grid start came after a significant off-track moment in Q1 of Qualifying. However, despite starting at the back, Colapinto managed to jump up to P13 by the end of the opening lap after taking advantage of several incidents that occurred further up the field.
Running behind teammate Pierre Gasly in the opening stint, Colapinto entered the pits first, switching from medium to hard tires. With Colapinto ahead, the duo reemerged in P11 and P12 before being promoted up the order as Kimi Antonelli fell and Max Verstappen crashed, triggering a late Safety Car. During the interruptions, Colapinto completed a second pit stop, taking on soft tires, before crossing the line in P9, with Gasly behind in P10.
Falling behind in the midfield battle
Alpine entered the Silverstone weekend with a 13-point advantage over Racing Bulls, but that has now been cut to just one point after its midfield rivals scored in both the Sprint and GP.
Speaking after the 2026 F1 British GP race, Colapinto noted that the team could not have matched Racing Bulls’ pace despite recovering from P19.
“Yeah, it was a strong race. I think finally a bit of good luck, you can say, after a lot of bad luck. Yesterday with the floor failing in that corner and the diffuser, it entered in full loss of downforce. I lost 25 points from one second to another. A bit of a pity, I think, what happened yesterday, but of course we learn with the team and we keep pushing.
“And today we recovered. We had a really strong race. I started from the back, but we had a really strong start. We had a really strong first stint in the medium. A good first part of the hard then.
“I have to go to the hairdresser. My hair fell in the last 15-20 laps. I couldn’t see a lot. I put the hair in the right place after the Safety Car came out. But we didn’t restart, a bit of a pity. I wanted to have a go at Gabi.”
He continued: “We need to keep working. Of course, it was a bit of a damage limitation compared with Racing Bulls. They were stronger than us these last two weekends. Gabi as well.
“We scored and that was all what we could have done and achieved. I’m happy with the result as a team. I’m happy with how we work. We have to keep pushing and understand how to improve the car more because we are not as fast as them.”
A close Alpine battle
Behind the midfield teams’ battle, Colapinto and Gasly also engaged in a close intra-team battle on the first lap of the race, where they nearly touched at turn 6. The Argentinian driver pitted first, reshuffling the order. The Frenchman was ahead in the first stint but had a slow stop.
Reflecting on his race against Gasly and the team tactics, Colapinto shared:
“Well, we were really close at the start. I’m glad we didn’t touch, but it was extremely tight. And then we did a good race where we scored with both cars in the home race with the team. So I am happy with it.”
When further asked about moving ahead of Gasly, the Argentine driver explained that it was not an undercut, more the problem of the 2020 Italian GP winner having a slow stop.
“Yeah, I was really close and my tyres were going off. I think I was one second behind. It’s not that I undercut him. I think he just had a slow stop. A bit of a slow stop and then I jumped in front.
“Well, I had a bit better pace in the medium and then he had a bit better pace in the hard,” he added. “So we had a bit of a split pace, depending on the different tyre compounds.
“My car was a bit overbalanced in the second part of the race. And I think my balance was a bit better in the medium. I was a bit quicker at the start, he was a bit quicker later on. We were both at a similar pace. It’s good that we scored points for the team.
“It’s another very difficult weekend for us as a team in terms of speed, so we need to keep pushing.”
“A pretty big effort”: Colapinto on his strong opening lap
Briefly looking back at his impressive race start, where he gained six positions after cleanly navigating a field of midfield collisions, Colapinto said:
“Well, yeah. It was a pretty big effort to be that clean. But yeah, glad we went through that lap one and recovered some places there.”
Prioritising team results at the 2026 F1 British GP
Colapinto concluded by reiterating that Alpine’s priority throughout the 2026 F1 British GP was to maximize the team’s overall result.
“It’s not an undercut. I think he had a slow stop, it’s unfortunate, it’s bad luck” he began, when asked whether pitting first was planned beforehand. “We swapped positions in Barcelona as well, if you remember. So it’s a bit of teamwork. And I think for the team it doesn’t really matter who is in front. We scored points with both cars and one behind another.”
“So it’s a team effort. We made the most out of what we had this weekend. It was tough, but the car was really consistent in the race, we had a strong pace,” he concluded.
