Franco Colapinto reviewed Alpine's year and anticipated the team's work for 2027

When will Colapinto race again

After this new setback, the Argentine driver will try to break his bad streak next week at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Action at the José Carlos Pace Autodrome, commonly known as Interlagos, will kick off on Friday, November 6 with the first free practices and will conclude on Sunday, November 8 with the main race.

The native of Pilar has already raced twice in Brazilian territory. The first was in 2024, when he raced for Williams, where he suffered a serious accident after hitting a puddle of water that caused him to lose control of his car. A year later, already with Alpine, he crossed the finish line in 15th place, mainly affected by the poor performance of his car.

Brazilian Grand Prix Schedule

Friday, November 6

The end of the season also begins to shape the direction of the teams for the upcoming championship. With the Brazilian Grand Prix on the horizon, Franco Colapinto arrived in Interlagos with the goal of maintaining the positive feelings left by Alpine in Mexico and finish the year in the best possible way. However, beyond immediate results, the Argentine is already looking towards 2027 and the changes his team needs to make a leap in quality.

In a dialogue with the press in the Interlagos paddock, the No. 43 highlighted the growth of the French team compared to the previous campaign. "Overall, it was a year that started a bit more complicated and then improved, and the team made a very big leap compared to what happened last year", he analyzed.

He added: "Happy with the balance at this point. Obviously, there is much to improve and work on, but it's a good leap compared to last year, I think in terms of what we had to work on and what we had as expectations".

However, the team's evolution was not enough to sustain the fight to advance in the championship. "Although obviously for now it is more complicated to reach fifth place in the championship than with what happened in the last races, it is still positive. We continue to make leaps race after race, we keep learning a little more about the car", he explained.

Alpine is already working on the 2027 car

The main focus of the team now is to transfer those learnings to the next car. Colapinto confirmed that Alpine is already concentrating its resources on the development of the 2027 car and that no major updates are planned for the remainder of the current championship.

"They are very focused on next year", said the Argentine, who explained that the main limitations of the current car require deep modifications. "I think in terms of what we need to work on as a team, we know it, we have been clear about it since the beginning of the season because it is something that takes time to develop and sometimes involves very fundamental changes to the car", he stated.

To illustrate this, he used a comparison: "When you improve things during the year, it's like putting a band-aid on a little injury where you need to improve a bit, but it's very difficult to improve the fundamental problem of the car without making a big change".

Therefore, the knowledge accumulated during 2026 will be an important tool for the next project. "I think for next year we have a clear picture of where we need to improve and that is positive", he affirmed, although he warned that the final performance will also depend on how much the other teams progress.

"We know the direction we need to take to improve some problems we have, but obviously until we test it, it's hard to know. But overall, I think it will definitely be better than this year. We have to see how much the others improve", he concluded.

Brazil, one of his favorite Grands Prix

Regarding his next challenge, the Argentine did not hide his excitement about racing in São Paulo and pointed out what his mission will be. "I love this circuit and it is one of the Grands Prix I look forward to the most during the season. Hopefully we can provide a good show for all the Argentines who will be supporting us. The goal is to score points and achieve a better result than our last visit", he expressed.

For this weekend, rain is expected that could affect his activities. In this regard, Colapinto analyzed: "We know that rain can completely change the course of the race and open new possibilities. We will try to take advantage of every opportunity to achieve a good result and bring joy to all the Argentines who will be cheering for us".