Franco Colapinto handed F1 2026 boost in ‘on a par’ verdict

Alpine managing director Steve Nielsen has offered a welcome morale boost for full-season rookie Franco Colapinto in what has turned out to be an extremely challenging year.

Nielsen points out that Alpine had been happy to see the way Colapinto has evolved as a driver, and that the Argentinian will have a few more races before the team makes any concrete decisions about the future.

Franco Colapinto gains much-needed F1 2026 boost

Franco Colapinto is only 20 starts into his Formula 1 career following his debut with Williams in the latter half of 2024 and his move to Alpine ahead of 2025’s European swing.

In both instances, the 22-year-old Argentinian has taken a seat vacated by a driver that the team opted to part ways with; Logan Sargeant at Williams, Jack Doohan at Alpine. But while Colapinto was able to impress with Williams, his Alpine tenure has been less successful.

In 2024, Colapinto was able to score points in both Azerbaijan and America, though the latter stage of his season was characterized by a slew of retirements.

This season, Colapinto has finished every race he’s started, but the closest he’s come to scoring points is a lowly 13th in both Monaco and Canada.

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For all of that struggle, it appears that Steve Nielsen, Alpine’s current managing director, is aware of just what a challenging position Colapinto finds himself in, particularly as the F1 2026 grid begins to form up.

“I think it’s difficult for any of the new drivers coming in,” Nielsen said, referring to Colapinto’s performance.

“We’ve seen ebb and flow in lots of them that have come from F2; I think five came from F2 last year, which is good.

“Franco had a difficult start. I think we’ve seen that equalise and calm down a little bit. He’s now had the measure of Pierre in the last, I would say, two or three races, so he’s on a par with him, which is good.

“We don’t know where that slope will end, whether it’s going to continue. We hope it does, and then we’ll make our decision on Franco and whoever else is in the frame when we have to, but we’re a few races away from that yet.”

Colapinto’s options for the future have grown slim, with much of the F1 field already formally settling on its future driver lineup or suggesting that specific drivers will remain with the outfit. He’ll be hoping to stick with Alpine.

And while the team’s performance this year may not be much to write home about, the introduction of sweeping regulatory changes for the F1 2026 season promises to shake up the running order.

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