SAO PAULO (AP) — Franco Colapinto will stay with the Alpine team for 2026 even though he's yet to score a point this year in Formula 1.
The Argentine driver will head into his first full F1 season in 2026 after he replaced Australian rookie Jack Doohan at Alpine ahead of the seventh race of the year at Imola in May, initially on a five-race deal.
“We are working better and better,” Colapinto said in a video on Alpine’s social media on Friday. “I do believe that when you win constantly you don’t learn much but when you’re struggling, when you have some tricky results, is when you really learn a lot more.”
The decision was announced ahead of Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix, which is the closest to a home race for Colapinto's Argentine fans, many of whom make the journey to Sao Paulo.
Colapinto and Doohan are the only drivers without any points in 2025. Colapinto's teammate Pierre Gasly, who has 20 points, signed an extension through 2028 in September.
With a best finish of 11th this year, Colapinto last scored a point in October 2024 with Williams, where he was a midseason replacement for Logan Sargeant.
Alpine posted on X that Colapinto “completes our 2026 driver lineup, bringing further stability and continuity to the team for the new regulation era.”
Reserve driver Paul Aron had been considered a potential contender to replace Colapinto after the Estonian took part in practice sessions for Alpine and Sauber.
Promoting a rookie like Aron would have put Alpine out of step with other teams who have sought stability and experience in their lineups ahead of sweeping changes to the F1 car design regulations for next season.
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
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