Franco Colapinto made a high-profile 2025 debut with Alpine, replacing Jack Doohan after just six Formula 1 races, defining his weekend with a heavy smash.
During qualifying at Imola, Colapinto spun into the gravel trap and barriers on his last lap, continuing a streak of crashes from his time with Williams in Brazil and Las Vegas the previous year.
Despite the crash, Alpine boss Flavio Briatore emphasized the importance of Colapinto being fast, avoiding crashes, and scoring points.
Colapinto’s return to the paddock as an Alpine driver drew attention, with high expectations set given his popularity in Argentina as the country’s first F1 driver in over two decades.
While Colapinto showed improvements in practice sessions at Imola, reducing the gap to teammate Pierre Gasly, a crash in Q1 overshadowed his progress.
Overall, Colapinto faced both challenges and support in his weekend, trying to establish himself in the Alpine team and deliver strong performances in F1.
