Alpine Managing Director Steve Nielsen has said the team is ready to give Franco Colapinto “all the support he needs to be quick” in Formula 1 in 2026.
Colapinto made a strong impression with his nine-race cameo for Williams during the 2024 campaign. It was enough to secure a reserve driver role with the Anglo-French marque at the start of last year.
That said, Jack Doohan’s inability to perform in the A525 prompted the team to promote the Argentinian into the race seat from Imola onwards.
But the 22-year-old has since failed to recapture the form he had shown at the Grove-based team. Colapinto ended the 2025 season pointless, with Alpine finishing dead last in the standings with only 22 points – all thanks to Pierre Gasly.
Colapinto started his stint with the Enstone-based team on what was technically a race-by-race contract. However, despite torrid spell, Alpine have handed the Argentinian a full-time seat for F1’s latest era in 2026.
Nielsen, who will oversee Colapinto’s make-or-break season with the team, has emphasised that the 22-year-old has “all the support” available to him from Alpine.
“Franco is a young driver. We’ve seen other young drivers go through good and difficult periods – he’s on that journey,” Nielsen told media including Motorsport Week after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
“There were races earlier in the year when he was a match for Pierre, and on a couple of occasions maybe even faster than Pierre in the races.
“He’s on that journey, and we’ll give him all the support he needs to be as quick as he can be, whether that’s faster than Pierre or close to Pierre.”
The Briton hinted at how Alpine’s decision to stick with Colapinto is motivated more by a need for stability within its ranks.
“The important thing for us is to have two drivers scoring in the championship. We’ve suffered a bit this year: only one car scored points, and not enough with that one either, while the other car scored zero points with two different drivers in it,” he explained.
“We need stability in the second car, and we need to give time for that talent to mature and deliver points for us. You need two drivers.”
Alpine vows to do better for Franco Colapinto in 2026
Coming into Alpine from Williams was a brutal reality check for Colapinto. He detailed in depth how he had struggled to adapt to the inherent characteristics of the A525 – something he felt right at home with in a Williams.
Heading into 2026, the team’s decision to use Mercedes engines might come as a welcome reprieve for the 22-year-old who will have at least some familiarity with the processes of the Brackley-based squad’s PU.
But Nielsen is adamant that Colapinto’s woes were not completely down to his own shortcomings. Rather, the team also needs to pick their socks up and prepare a car worthy of Colapinto showing his true potential.
“I think the brutal reality is that our car was not fast enough to score points,” Nielsen conceded. “I think both drivers we have now are better than the car.
“On the few occasions when the car has been good enough to fight around the points, we had one in Brazil, where Pierre qualified reasonably well and raced reasonably well, and another in Vegas where we were okay.
“When the car is good, both drivers are more than capable of delivering what the car allows. We need to make a much better car, a much better car, and then we’ll see if the drivers are capable of going with it.”
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