By the time Franco Colapinto arrives in Budapest’s Hungaroring, his pointless 2025 will have extended into August. Joining the team to replace the similarly struggling Alpine driver Jack Doohan in May, the man from Pilar in Buenos Aires Province is under pressure to catch up to teammate Pierre Gasly as Formula 1 lands in Hungary.

Colapinto told Alpine’s press team of his “tricky weekend” in Spa-Francorchamps where he finished in 19th place but insisted that the team had made “steps forward” to be competitive. “It feels like we are just on the wrong end of some very small details, which I am confident will come right soon.”

Despite entering the sport to huge fanfare in 2024 with Williams, his progress has suffered in a lowly-performing Alpine car. Objectively, his first hurdle is complete, he’s finishing Grand Prix on a more regular basis. But, the sport can be a brutal paddock, and Colapinto’s lack of points have not gone unnoticed. 

Rumours are circulating that Mercedes reserve Valtteri Bottas could be brought in by Alpine to finish the season, and the aforementioned Australian Doohan is still present on the teams roster, should Colapinto’s performances continue to remain lukewarm at best

He insists his qualifying pace is decent, arguing in Belgium he was “very close to reaching Q2.” But his race pace is familiarly shown to see him move further down the field rather than be in with any chance of points. 

But, Sunday’s are a sight of the driver falling towards the back of the grid. Compare that to teammate Pierre Gasly, who continues to showcase his ability to hold onto or chase precious points for a team sitting bottom of the constructor standings. All of the team’s 20 points so far this season have been scored by the Frenchman.

“Sunday’s race was interesting with the conditions. We were not well placed to score points but I was pleased for Pierre and the team to finish in tenth and at least collect one point.”

“We will keep our heads down and work hard to bring everything together for this weekend in Hungary.”

The 22-year-old fancies an improved weekend in Hungary, on a circuit that he’s familiar with in previous junior categories he competed in before graduating to Formula 1.

“I have celebrated a few podiums at the Hungaroring in my junior career and it is a track and city which I enjoy so I’m looking forward to getting out on track,” he said.

The Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring is situated on the northeastern fringes of Budapest, in a village called Mogyoród. This will be the 39th consecutive edition of a Formula 1 weekend at the track, before the sport takes a break until the Dutch Grand Prix at the end of the month. The circuit is twisty and narrow, meaning overtaking can sometimes be limited. But the track can be quick, last year’s pole sitter Lando Norris hitting a 1-minute and 15-second lap time for McLaren.