Franco Colapinto’s F1 São Paulo GP became a weekend of frustration and what-ifs after a bruising collision with Lewis Hamilton turned a promising start into a long, draining Sunday. The Alpine rookie had arrived in São Paulo feeling confident, but once the sprint crash forced a chassis change, nothing behaved the same.
By the time Hamilton’s Mercedes clipped him in the Grand Prix, Colapinto already felt the car sliding, snapping, and working against him – and the optimism he carried into Brazil slowly slipped through his fingers.
A damaged rhythm after the sprint crash and Hamilton contact
Colapinto didn’t hide his disappointment when analysing how the weekend drifted away. He explained that everything changed after the sprint race incident forced Alpine to switch chassis, leaving him with a car he struggled to tune into.
Reflecting on his race pace and the Hamilton collision, he said: “I don’t really think so, I think we just didn’t really have a lot of pace in the car. It was quite tricky the weekend, I think after the sprint race crash we changed the chassis and everything became more difficult, the balance was quite poor in the race.”
The Argentine added that the car simply refused to bite into the track surface, making it impossible to defend or attack consistently: “There was not a lot of grip, a lot of sliding and then just killing tyres, cooking tyres very quickly, so it was a hard afternoon but of course just a lot to review in the factory and try to be stronger in Vegas.”
Colapinto said he and the team tried to adjust on the fly, but the problems ran deeper than set-up tweaks: “We tried to go through the data and understand a bit more but yeah, it was a difficult day today.”
Supportive fans, but more frustration with on-track behaviour
Despite the issues, Colapinto highlighted one positive: the incredible São Paulo crowd.
“I think the fans, they have been very supportive,” he said. “I’m very happy to see them all here cheering, it was tricky.”
He recalled how competitive the Alpine felt before the sprint crash altered the weekend: “We started the weekend with a car that was very competitive and capable of scoring points and then we were right in the back foot after the sprint.”
When asked about the other incident involving Lance Stroll, he answered sharply and without hesitation: “Stroll is just always taking people out, just not looking in the mirrors, leaving no track [space] and he put Gabi (Bortoleto) in the wall, so it’s what he does every time.”
A secure future with Alpine brings clarity and confidence
With his new Alpine contract announced just days earlier, Colapinto admitted the confirmed future gives him stability heading into F1 2026: “Yeah definitely, of course I am more relaxed but I’m also really looking forward to next year. I think it’s a year that can be very positive for us as a team and I’m looking forward to that. Also to finish this year as best as we can and try to focus on the next one as well.”
His tone made one thing clear, even after a bruising weekend, he remains focused, motivated, and fully integrated into Alpine’s long-term project.
Colapinto’s leaves the F1 São Paulo GP still without any points in the 2025 drivers’ standings, placing him 20th on the list with zero points. While Alpine now commits to him for 2026, the reality is that at the current rate, he remains well outside any realistic championship contention. The team view the remaining races more as a development opportunity than a points haul mission.
