With Formula 1 resuming its activity after the summer break and several teams starting to define their lineups for 2027, the driver market is once again taking center stage in the paddock. In this context, the future of Franco Colapinto at Alpine is among the topics of interest, although the Argentine chose to remain cautious and focus on another goal: recovering the team's performance.
Before the Dutch Grand Prix, held this weekend in Zandvoort, the Buenos Aires native was asked about the discussions to extend his contract and avoided providing details about a potential renewal. The 23-year-old driver is going through his first full season in the category and believes he still has room to continue growing both individually and with the team.
"Personally, I am happy with my performance. Of course, I try to take a step forward every weekend and keep improving, but overall I have felt more satisfied than last year. I am comfortable in the team, so everything is good", he explained to the media present in Zandvoort.
In this context, the native of Pilar thus avoided revealing whether there are concrete advances in the contract discussions. "I think we are really focused on trying to make the car faster and better in every race, and on extracting more performance from the car. I think (defining a new contract) is not the main objective to think about those things, but to try to make the car much faster, because that is what we need at this moment. So we are working on that", he stated.
The Argentine driver is going through his first full season in the top category and, according to his own assessment, has made progress compared to his initial experiences in the category. "I am happy with my performance and much more comfortable with the car and the team. So yes, I think it has been a good year so far, a good first half of the season, and I am trying to keep improving for the second half", he added.
He also perceives this evolution when comparing his present with the moment he was going through a year ago. "I think I am in a much better place, much happier, more comfortable, and with more experience. I think that is the most important thing: the way you improve and advance the most is by learning from all the races you have competed in", he pointed out.
On the other hand, Colapinto particularly highlighted the learning process he went through at the end of 2025, when he had to adapt to a complicated car, and considered that this journey allowed him to arrive better prepared for his first full season. "This final part of 2025, around this time, was very good, due to the way I kept learning and improving with a rather difficult car. And this year I feel that I am in a better place, more comfortable", he analyzed.
Nonetheless, the Argentine knows he still has room to grow. "I still need to work on many areas, like any driver and, especially, since it is my first full year, so I think I still have a lot to improve and work on. But yes, I am quite happy with the improvement and with how I feel with the team and the car", he concluded.
When Colapinto will race again
After a break of almost a month, Formula 1 returns this weekend with the Dutch Grand Prix. Action at the Zandvoort circuit will kick off on Friday, August 21 with a single practice session and the Sprint qualifying, and will close on Sunday, August 23 with the main race.
