Franco Colapinto found the F1 podcast of Alpine boss Flavio Briatore funny, as he speaks high of the Italian highlighting the push.
The latest episode of Beyond the Grid podcast by F1 caused a stir, especially among the Argentinean fans after Alpine chief Briatore’s comments on Colapinto and his fanbase. The Italian didn’t understand the following that the youngster carries, despite not winning thus far.
He found the numbers absurd for a youngster, who is still proving his worth in F1. There was praise for the improvements made from the time he started with Alpine to the ongoing 2026 season. Briatore noted the step taken by Colapinto, which reflects in the results so far.
Colapinto terms it ‘funny interview’ wit Briatore
He is 12th in the drivers’ standings with 16 points albeit still 25 down on teammate Pierre Gasly. For Colapinto, the podcast was amusing. The Argentine termed it as a ‘funny interview’, even laughing at times. He didn’t mind Briatore being harsh to him as much.
“I heard a little bit,” said Colapinto in a print media session at F1 Austrian GP. “I found very good comments, a very funny interview, I think it was quite fun. In general it was a little bit of a laugh at times. Flavio has been very supportive with me and he’s been very harsh at times when he needs to be harsh.
“And I think he has experience to that. Of course it’s also in me how I take those moments. And luckily I did take them very well and I improved and I learned from that. So it was very helpful.”
Colapinto acknowledges the experience that Briatore has of the sport and life in general.
Experience of Briatore always a help
He feels it has been helpful to him to make him stronger during hard moments. For general public, the thing may look a bit harsh, but for Colapinto, it has helped him to get through difficult moments with right mindset to improve his game to cement his place in F1.
“I think we all know that Flavio has been in this sport for so many years and he has been so successful that when you use all his experience and his comments to understand where you need to focus more and to be stronger mentally and stuff like that, it becomes helpful and in the future it’s a bit of your strength,” continued Colapinto.
“So, he’s been, since I joined the team, he’s been of course very different to what I was used to. I spoke about it many times, but he helped me to learn a lot and to also improve more from the very tough moments.
“It’s like I kind of, those really hard and tough situations made me much stronger and the way he was handling with me those situations made it even more in that way and I think nowadays he’s really helping me.
“He has had a lot of confidence in me this season and that’s pushing me in the right direction and also gave me the support that he always gave me. Of course we are having better results and we are achieving better things as a team.
“We of course are not where we want to be, but I think it’s been a successful first part of the year in general. We are working hard to improve much more than this,” summed up Colapinto, who acknowledges that it is still not where Alpine wants to be.
Colapinto says there is more to do and Briatore is behind the push
He knows there is still more to do to put Alpine at the front pack. And Briatore is instilling that hope inside the F1 team to push. Colapinto sees support from the Italian whether on and off the track. “Of course right now it’s not where we want to be, but no, his support, off track, on track, with the team, not only with me as a driver, but with the engineers, with everybody, he pushes the team forward a lot and I really appreciate that,” he said.
“Someone that is not really non-conformist and he pushes always more and more and more. Even when we are doing well or we are having a good result, we are finishing P6, he’s back in the factory and he’s the only one not being happy and not being conformed of the result we’ve had and wanting more and more and more.
“And that’s the way that in Formula 1 you go from P10, that was where we were last year, to this year being in the midfield and next year a bit closer to the top and, in a few years fighting for wins. I think that’s the only way in Formula 1 nowadays. He knows how to do it, so I fully trust him,” summed up Colapinto.
Experience of a year is handy
When asked how he has gained the confidence, Colapinto points at the simple thing of time spent. The Argentine notes how he felt disconnected last year with things all over the place, but from then to the winter and now, he has gotten more comfortable with the team and the car.
He could sense the difference right from the start of the year, which has translated into results. He is feeling more at home and consistent. “No, I think when you start to feel a bit more comfortable with the team, with the car, and everything starts to be in a bit of a better window, it’s much easier to feel a bit more confident,” continued Colapinto.
“Last year everything felt quite disconnected and not kind of things fighting each other and not kind of in a good place. I struggled and this year it felt much better since the start and we are in a better position.
“Of course we keep working and keep trying to learn some things and of course trying to get better every race. We keep working. Again, we want more than this, but it’s been a stronger start and of course I have more confidence and I’m feeling more consistent and better in the car.”
Gasly agrees with Briatore on being one among Top 6
The same podcast, Briatore rated Colapinto’s teammate Gasly as one among six top F1 drivers on the grid. Something that the Frenchman agreed to as per his own feeling of his performances put in in a car which hasn’t been on the front for several seasons now.
“I think I am,” asserted Gasly. “It’s nice to hear it from Flavio, but I’ve been here long enough to know that I’ve got to focus on my own business. I try to be the best I can every single time I’m in the car and sometimes the best I can do is a 15th place last year. It doesn’t mean that I’m a bad driver.
“Sometimes you get a car that allows you to finish in the top five, win or top 10, and you’ve just got to extract the best you can. I think I’m performing well. Can I get even better? Yes, I can, and that’s what I work for every day.
“I still think I can deliver even stronger performances than I’m doing, and that’s what I’ve got to work on. Yeah, it’s nice from Flavio and we’re working very well together, so I’m happy with the dynamic we have as a team and just want us to be able to perform even better than we’re doing,” summed up Gasly.
Still lot of work to do before Argentina GP can get F1 slot
When Colapinto was asked about the potential Grand Prix in Argentina, the youngster noted of what he saw in his last visit for a roadshow with Alpine. The demonstration was a huge success, but on the F1 race side, he sees progress with the circuit redevelopment plan.
But he doesn’t know when the Grand Prix can happen. F1 last raced in Argentina in 1998 at Autodromo Oscar y Juan Galvez in Buenos Aires. For years, there have been attempts to put it back on the calendar, but nothing has worked out, even though the country has hosted MotoGP races.
For now, there is a plan in place, but Colapinto is not sure when it can happen. He is just hopeful that it can, as he feels F1 can be ranked as the second most viewed sport in Argentina after football. “The only thing I know is when I went to Argentina for the roadshow, I went and I visited the track and I visited the plan of how they are going to do it,” he said.
Colapinto sees F1 as second most viewed sport in Argentina
“They are rebuilding everything, they are rebuilding the whole track and everything is kind of planned now. It’s been a very historic track in Argentina, even in Formula 1 a lot of years ago. It was nice when they were going to race there and in Buenos Aires. The fans are amazing, they are very passionate, extremely passionate and I think it will be a very historic race for F1 to go to at some point.
“Probably some records in terms of people going there. I think the way the fans support the drivers or the teams will be something that has never been seen before and it will be amazing that F1 can do that. So hopefully it happens. When I went, the project is very nice and I think it has a lot of future.
“Of course a lot of things need to happen and I’m not a business man, I don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes, but I think there is interest and it will not make a lot of sense that there isn’t interest because F1 in the country is growing massively.
“I think it’s probably the second sport now behind football, of course, but that’s going to be tricky to beat. It’s growing and growing more and I think it will be an amazing race and I think a very historic one if at some point they are able to go there.”
