Colapinto’s flying in the Monza tests and seems to be one step closer to replacing Doohan. That is the question that is up in the air. The Argentine is convinced that he will make his debut with Alpine in the World Championship soon. While Alpine is still struggling in Formula 1 – they have not scored any points in the first three races – the Argentine Franco Colapinto is getting closer and closer to the top flight of motorsport.
Jack Doohan suffered a tremendous accident on Friday, in Free Practice 2, after trying to take Turn 1 with the DRS open and where he ended up against the barriers, after an impact of more than 50 Gs, after being slowed down in part by the gravel.
Doohan is in the eye of the storm and in some forums it is said that he would no longer be the starting driver this weekend in Bahrain or next weekend in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia). The pressure on the driver is extreme, and even more so when Franco Colapinto’s tests have gone as well as they have.
According to Motorsport Italia, Alpine carried out the tests with the A523. During the first day, the Estonian Paul Aron drove, while on Sunday it was Colapinto’s turn. In the qualifying simulation, the Argentinean was an average of half a second (0.5) faster than Aron. In turn, he increased the difference to 0.7 seconds per lap in relation to the most extensive run. However, Franco made a mistake on the second lap of the first long run: he locked up under braking and went off the track at the legendary Ascari corner, where he was able to escape the gravel.
In the midst of the explosion generated by Colapinto’s performance at Monza, former driver Ralf Schumacher questioned Jack Doohan’s continuity. “He makes a lot of mistakes and he’s not fast enough,” he began. The Argentine is clear that his moment will come: “I am an Alpine driver, I have a contract with them. I am working there and I hope for an opportunity in that team,” he said in the podcast Nude Project.
Colapinto forced to apologize
Franco Colapinto had to apologize to Uruguay after a controversy erupted over a statement he made during an interview on a Spanish podcast where he said that “Uruguay is like an Argentine province” and pointed out that the South American country “doesn’t invent things” but copies them from Argentina.
“I wanted to apologize for the stupid thing I said about Uruguay, obviously it was in a joking tone,” he wrote on social media. ‘Sometimes I find it hard to grasp the extent of the nonsense I say. I didn’t mean to offend anyone, they were messing with me with the milanesas, mate empanadas, and I got carried away…’ he added.