Franco Colapinto was visibly emotional following the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday, expressing significant frustration after a critical error during the race. The Alpine driver finished ninth at Monza, securing two championship points despite the setback. His post-race comments highlighted a sense of missed opportunity after a strong start to the event.
Colapinto had started the race from seventh position, having qualified eighth before benefiting from a grid penalty applied to Kimi Antonelli. He made immediate progress on the opening lap, gaining positions amidst an incident involving Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.
The race saw an early red flag after Leclerc crashed on the second lap. Following the restart, Colapinto demonstrated strong pace, briefly overtaking Max Verstappen to move into third place and position himself for a potential podium finish.
However, his race trajectory changed dramatically when he lost control of his Alpine at the Lesmo corner, specifically Turn 6. The error sent him into the gravel, causing him to drop significantly down the order from third or fourth to 16th position.
‘It was a very difficult and frustrating race. I wasted a great opportunity for the team,’ Colapinto stated. ‘I had a very good car and could have finished further ahead, but I made a very big mistake. I couldn’t give the team the result they expected.’
The Argentine driver admitted he struggled to comprehend the sudden loss of control. ‘I completely lost the car,’ he said. ‘I don’t really understand how I lost it so abruptly.’
Despite the costly spin, Colapinto mounted a recovery drive, regaining seven positions to cross the finish line in ninth place. This effort secured two valuable points for Alpine.
The incident overshadowed what was otherwise a strong weekend for Alpine. Teammate Pierre Gasly secured pole position and finished seventh, underscoring the team’s performance with recent chassis upgrades and a switch to Mercedes power.
Colapinto, who was confirmed as an Alpine F1 driver for the 2026 season in November 2025, concluded that he must learn from the error.
