How Colapinto has survived and thrived in the hothouse intensity of F1

It’s Thursday ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix when Franco Colapinto arrives at the Le Meridien hotel wearing a disarming smile. This time, the interview is not taking place in Alpine’s hospitality unit, but aboard a yacht, a Beneteau GT50, making its way through Monaco harbour towards Formula 1’s most glamorous paddock.

The choppy waters of Monte Carlo prove less than ideal for Alpine’s PR representative, but the setting is fitting nonetheless: Colapinto is riding a wave of momentum now that he’s become a regular points threat.

There’s always pressure in F1, but how much more relaxed is the Franco Colapinto of today compared to the one we saw a year ago?

Franco Colapinto: "I think it’s always nice when work pays off. When so many people make a big effort for you to understand things and take a step, then to actually do it is the most satisfying part. It’s true that at the start of this year we still struggled with many issues. I think having a new car, as well as two [further] new cars [for the races], has been different compared to the test. In the test, I felt very strong and comfortable, but as soon as we moved to the first few races I really struggled."

It’s quite strange to feel good in one-car testing, then switch to running two cars and all of a sudden lose that feeling. Do you have a clue how that was possible?

FC: "It’s not like the feeling was gone, the pace was gone, more than anything. I was still feeling good in the car, but I was looking at the lap times and that’s the part I couldn’t really understand or get my head around. The most important thing as a driver is to always understand why things happen, and to be honest, many times in the first few races I couldn’t. That’s why the break before Miami was quite good. We did a lot of work and brought things that helped us a lot."

It almost sounds like something was wrong with the chassis because you didn’t do anything different compared to testing, I guess?

FC: "No, I didn’t do anything different. I don’t know if something was wrong, but when we put the entire package together after the first three rounds, everything just improved and the half a tenth that I was losing per corner was back. It’s tricky to know exactly what happened or why it was because when you change a lot of things, it’s tricky to say, ‘This is the reason why we are quicker now.’ It’s the same when you do many set-up changes and you are quicker; you don’t know which one has been the biggest improvement."

Colapinto has gathered a decent collection of points in 2026, including for his seventh-place finish in Miami

Photo by: TWJB Photography

People in the paddock often talk about a Miami breakthrough for you. Apart from the upgrades, what is behind that? During the April break you had a full month to look into the data and things like energy management.

FC: "Yes, energy management is a key element that we are really consistent with now. In Japan, I lost four tenths from one lap to another just by deploying differently or by going on throttle out of the last corner differently. I think after that race it became a lot more consistent and that is one of the steps we’ve made as a team. And personally, I think I was quite inconsistent in Japan as well, so those lessons have helped me a lot."

Speaking of Japan, how annoying was it that many people pointed to you after that heavy Ollie Bearman crash?

FC: "I think a big part of it is that it’s very hard for people at home to understand the closing speeds, super clipping, deployment, boost button and so on. There are so many technical things this year that people at home don’t fully understand.

"But it’s also how society is nowadays. And that’s something that, I think, we as athletes need to speak a bit louder and put a limit on. Personally, as Franco, those things don’t affect me that much. I know what I do and I only get affected when people in my circle, people that I really admire and fully believe, say something to me. I listen to them a lot, but when someone behind a keyboard speaks and writes things, without any knowledge of what’s happening, it doesn’t affect me at all."

You said drivers can do more to tackle online abuse. What do you think can be improved?

FC: "As drivers, we need to help people understand how much their words can affect others. I think they never felt it in their lives because they never received those messages, or they probably think that we never read them. But we’ve arrived at the situation that most athletes are deleting their social media. I think as human beings we need to be much more conscious of the effect that our words have. On my side, I also blame us drivers a bit because sometimes we speak in the media in a way that we are not thinking about the strength that our words have."

Colapinto would have preferred any dialogue with Bearman over incident in Japan to have been conducted away from public gaze

Photo by: Fox/Getty Images

Which also happened after Japan…

FC: "Which also happened after Japan with Ollie. I sent him a message straight after the race and he never answered. We never spoke about it afterwards, but then he said this about me. It’s those kinds of things that we can fix in a different way, in a way that would be much easier and by not going public. And then I think making people understand that their words actually have an impact is also a very important part."

Is dealing with all this scrutiny something you had to learn after arriving in F1?

FC: "Yes. My example was quite a shock because I started my F1 career [with Williams in 2024] and in my second race I got into Q3 and scored points. The third race was on a super-difficult track in Singapore and I almost scored points again. Then I scored points in Austin, so it was an amazing start, but afterwards I had this crash in Vegas and suddenly everything was a disaster. Everyone forgot about everything! I raced with old parts for the last two races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi because after the crash in Vegas the car was destroyed.

"I do believe you are as good as your last race but it’s annoying that all the effort and good things suddenly came to an end because of just a rookie mistake. At the end of the day I was still learning. I had never driven an F1 car before, apart from half a day in Abu Dhabi. It’s not an excuse but it showed me how quickly things can change in F1 and sometimes that’s a bit annoying."

Was it mentally difficult to deal with?

FC: "I’m sharing this example because for me it has been the most difficult one. My time was running out, I didn’t have a new contract yet and you want to do well. But suddenly you know that you can’t because you have a car that is three tenths slower. That was tricky for me, I think the trickiest one so far, but all those things make you really strong.

"The learning curve for any young F1 driver – Kimi, Gabi, Ollie, Isack, me – you grow up so much every race, it’s actually shocking. How much you grow is also your own choice because you need to understand things and go through tough moments. If you don’t take as much of a benefit from those moments, you probably won’t mature as much.

The scrutiny that F1 drivers are under is intense and unrelenting

Photo by: Bagnall/Sutton Images/Getty Images

"For example, last year I understood many things and grew a lot quicker as a driver. It was a hard time for me, but it made me stronger and mentally tougher. I am very proud of the steps that we made as a team, but also of the steps I made as a driver. Even though it looks like I am improving more in 2026, I really believe that 2025 has been the year I’ve improved a lot more than in 2026.

"That again comes from those difficult moments, difficult conversations, and times when nothing is working. Because when nothing is working, everything becomes very tense and very difficult, and I always feel those are the moments that made me improve the most."

It sounds like a school of life – you learn more in F1 than anywhere else. 

FC: "It’s shocking. To be honest, when I did my first couple of races at Williams, I was exhausted after every race weekend, simply by the amount of things I suddenly had to deal with. Those are the things no one sees. I think it’s a beautiful sport and it’s what we dreamed of all our lives, but when you get there, a lot of things change and you also have to change yourself a little bit."

In what way? Was F1 different and more political than you expected?

FC: "Much more, and no one really tells you that. Nothing can really prepare you for becoming an F1 driver and dealing with all the things you have to deal with. It’s a completely different world compared to F2. Maybe you drive only 10% of the time as an F1 driver, but it’s not so much about driving anymore. I think that’s one of the trickiest parts because all of a sudden you are dealing with a lot more things. That’s the part that no one sees, but it’s shocking how mentally demanding an F1 weekend is.

"The part of consistently delivering weekend after weekend is something that is extremely difficult because emotions change, many things around you change, and to be at your top level week in, week out is extremely challenging. That’s the thing you learn with time, how to personally move on and focus on getting that consistency.

"I think finding that rhythm is the thing I’ve improved the most this year. I became much better at keeping my energy in a better place and not arriving exhausted before I drive. That’s one of the biggest steps I’ve made."

Car-wrecking crash in Vegas ’24 seemingly wiped out all the good work he had done

Photo by: Galloway/LAT/Getty Images

It pays off this season. The team has improved and the same can be said about your results. What role has Flavio Briatore played in that, and what is he like to work with, especially given the long-term ambitions of Gucci-Alpine?

FC: "You have to adapt very quickly in F1. Everyone is different, everyone has its big pros and you have to understand those and kind of hug them. In any job, it is difficult to change but for me it was a pleasure to start working with Flavio. He’s someone I always followed since I was very young. I used to follow Fernando [Alonso] since a long time ago, and for me it’s a pleasure to have Flavio’s confidence and trust to put me in the car.

"I believe in his process. You have to understand him but I think to succeed in F1, and to achieve the goal that every midfield team has – to catch Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes, McLaren – you need someone like Flavio. We finished P6 and P8 in Canada, those were amazing points for the team, but after the race Flavio was not happy at all and kept pushing the team.

"He was the most unhappy person in the team because of how far off Ferrari we were compared to Miami. He wanted to understand why and pushed the team forward.

"To put that pressure on the team even when things go right, it’s his way of leading the team, and in my personal view it’s a way of succeeding in F1 and catching the top teams. Flavio is a competitive animal. He only came back to win and I really appreciate that because I’m the same. I’m very proud of the steps we made, but we are all very competitive and we are not happy just being at the front of the midfield.

"It’s true that the steps have been massive this year, but we’re always aiming for more. Many good things are happening, new partnerships and a lot of things around us, so I think it shows that the direction we are taking is the correct one."

This article is one of many in the monthly Autosport magazine. For more premium content, take a look at the August 2026 issue and subscribe today.

Colapinto is relishing having “competitive animal” Briatore as his boss

Photo by: Bagnall/Sutton Images/Getty Images