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After axing Jack Doohan, Franco Colapinto was brought in at Alpine on a five-race contract. Moreover, the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix was the Argentine's first F1 race weekend in 2025, but the 21-year-old drowned under the pressure as he crashed the Alpine A525 during the dying stages of Q1.
Colapinto made nine race starts last year with Williams. He showcased his prowess behind the wheel of a racecar by scoring points on two occasions. However, his impressive results were paired with equally troubling Grand Prix results.
The Argentine had multiple crashes with Williams' 2024 challenger but was one of the most in-demand drivers in the driver market, and Alpine quickly snubbed him from the Grove-based squad in early 2025. This left a clock ticking down on Jack Doohan's neck, who was replaced by Colapinto ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
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With the race at Imola being Franco Colapinto's first race weekend in 2025 after replacing Doohan, eyes across the paddock were due to be lined up on him ahead of the race weekend. Despite showcasing his impressive performance, the 21-year-old seemingly crumbled under the pressure as he crashed the A525 after the Tamburello section.
This allowed fans to take a dig at his past at Williams on how he used to often crash the FW46, a trend which has seemingly continued at Alpine:
"[Franco] Colapinto picking up right where he left off in the Williams."
"Vamos crashpinto," one fan wrote.
"People really fans of this guys, gonna destroy more cars than Goatifi," another fan wrote.
Meanwhile, other fans focused on how he was brought in as a replacement for Jack Doohan:
"But he was better than Doohan alpine said," one netizen wrote.
"Doohan got kicked so Colapinto can continue his crashing streak," another netizen wrote.
"Doohan would never," a third netizen wrote.
Franco Colapinto is on a five-race contract with the French outfit.
Franco Colapinto would have to prove to Alpine that he deserves the F1 seat
Despite replacing Doohan, Colapinto does not seem to have all the stakeholders in his camp. This could have been the reason for his short-term contract.
On the other hand, with his crash at the Imola circuit, the pressure of showcasing his capabilities has increased tremendously. However, Franco Colapinto did not have all the things in control as he only had three practice sessions to get a feel for the A525, as he had revealed at the start of the race weekend on how he still has to learn the intricacies about the car, as he said (via Formula 1):
"Still a lot of things to learn and to get used to it but, yeah, building up slowly, and I think by the end I was starting to be a bit more competitive. So, yeah, looking good. I think the car is looking quite strong, especially with Pierre [Gasly], so I’m sure we can do a good weekend both tomorrow."
The Argentine had made it into Q2, but would not be able to proceed through owing to his massive crash.
