Franco Colapinto admitted he was "not quite there yet" after a challenging first weekend back in F1 with Alpine, as the Argentinian finished 16th in the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix following a hefty Qualifying crash.
While Alpine failed to score for a third straight race – with Pierre Gasly only able to finish 13th despite a 10th-placed starting spot – there were some positives to take, namely Colapinto gaining vital experience and the one-lap potential of the car.
Colapinto's Grand Prix build up was far from ideal after his heavy crash in Qualifying brought out the red flags on Saturday. Then, on Sunday, his inexperience showed at the start of the race as a tentative first few corners saw him lose places from his P16 start, a trip through the gravel not helping matters a few laps later.
The 21-year-old ran a long first stint, but Lady Luck was not on his side either as he pitted just before the Virtual Safety Car period triggered by Esteban Ocon's retirement.
Colapinto on his first race with Alpine: ‘Not the result we wanted by a lot of learnings’
“We had good pace at the start of the race compared to the others,” Colapinto explained following the Grand Prix. “I made the C5 – the medium – last very long, so we were on a one-stop and that VSC came just a few laps after I made my stop.
“It kind of just put me in a very difficult situation with already eight laps on the tyres and struggling a bit to keep up with the pace of the guys boxing for new tyres under the VSC. It was okay, it was more experience and good to learn a bit more the car.
“I think better tracks are coming for us, especially Monaco. It is a place which requires very high confidence. I’m not quite there yet, I’m still learning more and more each time I am in the car so I’ll build it up and I’m looking forward to it next weekend.”
Colapinto did not race at Monaco in F1 last season, his stint for Williams coming in the second half of the season, so it will be another new experience for the youngster next weekend as he continues to bed in at Alpine.
However, he can take further confidence from Gasly’s one-lap pace and the potential in the car with Qualifying of extra importance in Monte Carlo.
‘I battled hard… too hard’ – Gasly talks us through his fight with Leclerc at Imola
Gasly’s Qualifying in Imola certainly stood out, with a top-10 start, and he should have been in the mix for points in the race. But a rash moment battling Charles Leclerc at the start saw the Frenchman skate off through the gravel, dropping down the order as a result.
“First of all not happy with my race as I made that mistake which should not really happen,” Gasly said as he reflected on his Imola outing.
"I battled hard, I tried too hard and I thought I would be able to stick around the outside leaving some room for Charles on the inside but unfortunately when I turned in, I had no grip and couldn’t make the corner.
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“That for sure made us drop four positions I think initially. Then we revert or, let me say, we decided to go on a two-stop. It was looking decent, I think we would have been fighting the one-stopper at the end of the race. The late Safety Car gave them a free pit stop, so luck wasn’t really on our side.”
Gasly did state that the car had “good pace” over one lap, as he already turned his sights to Monaco next weekend, with the races coming thick and fast in the second triple-header of the season.
“Next week we know it is all about the quali, mainly about the quali and that’s where we can hopefully capitalise on the strong quali this weekend,” he concluded.
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