Franco Colapinto has privately been ‘surprised’ by one ‘poor’ aspect of Alpine’s F1 car compared to Williams

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Franco Colapinto has been struggling in Formula 1 since he made the switch to Alpine from Williams over the winter.

The Argentine replaced Logan Sargeant for the final nine races of 2024 at the Grove outfit. In that time, he provided stronger competition for Alex Albon and fought for points, with his predecessor managing just one point in 36 races.

Colapinto scored five points from his first four Grand Prix and quickly became the talk of the paddock. His performances were catching the attention of rival teams, with even Red Bull expressing an interest in Colapinto.

However, that dwindled as the 21-year-old suffered multiple crashes in the final few races. But with Williams not having a seat for him in 2025, Flavio Briatore signed Colapinto as Alpine’s reserve driver on a long-term contract.

With Jack Doohan having signed an alleged six-race deal for 2025, it was clear that Briatore had plans to promote Colapinto to a race seat. Sure enough, Doohan was dropped after the Miami GP after failing to score points in the opening six events, but his replacement has fared no better.

Franco Colapinto has been privately ‘surprised’ by how stiff the Alpine is compared to Williams

Colapinto has matched Doohan’s feat of no points in six races as he struggles to find any performance out of the A525. Alpine insiders say Colapinto is losing too much time to Pierre Gasly as the team sits bottom of the constructors’ championship.

The Enstone outfit’s car is generally lacking performance with the Renault engine. But journalist Scott Mitchell-Malm has noted that Colapinto has been taken aback by how stiff the car is in comparison to the Williams FW46.

“There were also just inherent weaknesses within the package. So, the engine is one of them, obviously,” said Mitchell-Malm via The Race F1 Podcast.

“But I think that car is also slightly poor in terms of ride quality, which I think might be related to the fact, I think it’s quite stiff.

“As I understand it, for example, Franco Colapinto, since he’s stepped in, has been surprised by just how stiff the Alpine is versus the Williams he drove last year, which was another tricky car to drive at times, but softer.

“You could feel where the limit was a little bit more.”

READ MORE: Who is Alpine 2025 F1 driver Franco Colapinto? Everything you need to know

Franco Colapinto is at huge risk of dropping off the F1 grid

The A525 has its issues, but Colapinto is not performing in the way that the team were hoping for when he replaced Doohan. He did not start the British GP due to a mechanical failure; it was the last thing he needed as rumours swirl about his future.

Colapinto’s future in F1 ‘doesn’t sound good’ as he is facing pressure to keep his seat at Alpine. There is speculation that he could drop off the grid before the Belgian GP, with Briatore refusing to talk about Colapinto’s future after declining a recent media interview for that reason.

Valtteri Bottas has been linked with Alpine, as Briatore would prefer to sign an experienced driver. However, Bottas is ‘more interested’ in signing for Cadillac and is not an option for the Enstone outfit in 2025.

It is now being reported that Paul Aron is more likely to replace Colapinto, with the reserve driver next in line for a seat at Alpine. The Estonian has been completing numerous TPC tests in recent weeks and he looks to gain more mileage in F1 machinery.