Franco Colapinto rued a “very tough” weekend at the 2025 F1 Italian GP, as he struggled for pace around the Temple of Speed, with his Alpine A525 mainly losing out in straight line speed against its direct rivals.
Alpine has a small but significant deficit in terms of engine horsepower compared to the other manufacturers, and that manifested itself at Monza. Although the Argentinian outqualified his team-mate Pierre Gasly by a tenth of a second, it was only good enough for 18th place on the grid, and nearly two tenths away from P15 and getting out of Q1.
In the race, things didn’t get much better either, as he finished a lowly 17th, just 1.5s behind Gasly, but a whopping 26s off the points’ scoring places.
Alpine “knew” it would be a tough weekend
Speaking to selected media after the race, a very downbeat Colapinto couldn’t offer much of an explanation aside from a pure lack of pace from the Alpine car around such a power-sensitive circuit:
“Yeah, I think we knew [it would be like this],” he said. “We just lacked a lot of pace and we struggled to make any progress. Yeah, very difficult.I think it was a very tough afternoon.
“We just need to work to understand what we can do better.“
Why he had a “different experience” at Monza, a year on from F1 debut
A year on from his very competitive F1 debut with Williams at the Italian GP, Colapinto’s experience at Monza was completely different this time, as he promptly admitted:
“I had a different experience here last year with my car [Williams],” he admitted. “It was just a tough week.”
How he is “trying his best” to keep his seat for 2026
With the pressure building for results before the summer break, Colapinto’s run of races lately suggest some progress is being made – although he doesn’t quite have the car to go with it. The Argentinian is remaining positive that he’s “trying his best” to convince Renault’s bosses that he’s doing enough for a 2026 seat at the Enstone squad, which is still open alongside the newly re-signed Gasly.
“I think [I’ll] just keep building up and keep trying to find pace. That’s what we can do. Try to maximise every weekend and do our best.
“Yeah, I’m trying my best.”
After 10 races in Alpine F1 machinery since his debut at the Imola GP, Colapinto is still yet to score a point for the team, or qualify in the top 10 of a grand prix.
