Franco Colapinto was “proud to put in that performance” during the Miami Grand Prix, as the Alpine driver claimed his best-ever result in Formula 1 after finishing seventh on Sunday.
The Argentinian driver completed one of his strongest weekends in F1 which culminated in his second points finish of the season after the 57-lap race Miami race.
Colapinto entered the weekend on a high, having earlier in the week performed demonstration runs in front of 600,000 of his home fans aboard a 2012 Lotus E20 – which was decked out in an updated Alpine livery – and a replica of Juan Manuel Fangio’s Mercedes W196.
Describing it as “one of my dreams to drive in Argentina”, Colapinto used Alpine’s new upgrade package in Miami to out-qualify team mate Pierre Gasly for the first time this season in eighth.
Having battled with Lewis Hamilton on the opening lap of the Grand Prix, Colapinto crossed the line in eighth before being promoted a position following a post-race penalty for Charles Leclerc.
“Really happy. It’s been a very good weekend,” said Colapinto, whose previous best result was P8 at the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix back when he was driving for Williams.
“Since the start, it’s been very competitive, we’ve been up there from Free Practice without knowing the track. Every session we executed it perfectly and I’m very happy for the points today.
“The team has done a very big effort to bring parts for the car, bring upgrades, new chassis. It’s been very hectic in the factory during this break but also very useful. Very proud to put in that performance that we need and show the speed of the car this weekend. It has been very positive.”
With Gasly also claiming eighth and a single point in the Sprint, Alpine occupy fifth in the Teams’ standings with Colapinto admitting that the team’s performance increase compared with last season has given him a confidence boost.
“When you have the pace suddenly everything becomes much easier and not being on the back foot,” he added. “It’s been much better this weekend and feel very strong.”
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