Colapinto finally earns praise from Briatore after ‘strong’ Dutch GP

Alpine F1 boss Flavio Briatore has offered rare praise for Franco Colapinto following the young Argentine’s near-points finish at the Dutch Grand Prix, calling it “probably his strongest” performance of the season.

Colapinto, who has struggled to meet expectations since replacing Jack Doohan at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, ran an impressive race at Zandvoort, coming just half a second shy of finishing 10th behind Haas’ Esteban Ocon.

Briatore’s commendation comes as a relief for the 20-year-old, whose performances to date have not consistently met the team principal’s standards, casting a doubt on his future with Alpine.

Risks and Rewards at Zandvoort

“Starting from outside the points, we took some risks throughout to try and maximise our chances to score,” Briatore said in his post-race assessment. “With Franco, he drove a very good race, probably his strongest this season so far.”

Colapinto’s weekend had already shown encouraging signs, with a strong qualifying performance that kept him close to experienced teammate Pierre Gasly.

During the race, the 22-year-old rookie relied on Pirelli’s soft tyres to gain positions early on before following team orders to let Gasly back through. In the dramatic final restart, Alpine split their strategy, giving Colapinto fresh tyres while Gasly stayed out on older rubber.

The young Argentine capitalized on the opportunity, chasing down midfield competitors and ultimately missing out on points by the narrowest of margins. Gasly, by contrast, lost ground and finished 17th.

Colapinto Reflects on a Positive Weekend

“We were very close to securing some points as a team today,” he said. “It was a race where we had to be alert and ready to capture any opportunity. I felt I drove well and, at the flag, [scored] my best finish of the season.

“As a team there are some parts of the race we will assess to see what we could have done better. We made a call at the end to pit for softs during the final Safety Car to try and attack cars ahead towards the points. We were very close but just [fell] short at the end.

“There are many positives to take from the weekend. We had an improved performance in qualifying, I feel more things on my side are coming together and I look forward to returning to Monza next weekend, the venue of my F1 debut last year.”

With Briatore’s public acknowledgment and a near-miss points finish, Colapinto appears to be gaining momentum, demonstrating the potential that convinced Alpine to bring him into the team last winter.

But the Argentine’s display will crucially require confirmation in upcoming races.

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