David Coulthard pinpoints what really impressed him about Franco Colapinto’s Alpine debut after studying Imola data

Franco Colapinto currently has the unfortunate honour of sitting 21st in the 2025 Formula 1 drivers’ championship despite only 20 cars being on the grid.

To avoid that fate, Franco Colapinto had to better Gabriel Bortoleto’s best finish of 14th this season and hope the Sauber driver didn’t also improve his best finish.

The Brazilian rookie could only come home in 18th but Alpine’s newest driver crossed the line in P16 and for the time being, is rooted to the bottom of the drivers’ championship.

It’s been a whirlwind two weeks for Colapinto since he discovered that he would be replacing Jack Doohan in time for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

The young Argentine has had some seat time since signing from Williams, with Colapinto taking part in a private Alpine test at Monza alongside Paul Aron.

Karun Chandhok had heard that Colapinto had crashed several times during testing, and he didn’t improve his reputation during qualifying on Saturday.

The 21-year-old hit the barriers on his final run of Q1, and an error in the pit lane after Yuki Tsunoda’s crash saw him demoted to 16th.

Although that’s where he would eventually finish, David Coulthard saw one bright spark from Colapinto that he could carry into the next race at Monaco.

READ MORE: Who is Alpine 2025 F1 driver Franco Colapinto? Everything you need to know

David Coulthard impressed with Franco Colapinto’s race pace on his Alpine debut

Coulthard was commentating on the race at Imola for Channel 4 and on lap eight, Colapinto went slightly wide coming out of the final corners.

In response to this, Coulthard commented: “Is that Colapinto getting a bit too deep going into the first of the Rivazzas?

“I’ve just been looking at his times actually, and as much as the clean air or the dirty allows, he’s been matching Gasly!

“Gasly, obviously, on the back foot [after going wide in his battle with Charles Leclerc].”

Pierre Gasly has proven to be a very strong benchmark for all of his teammates since signing for Alpine.

He outscored Esteban Ocon in the two seasons they spent together as teammates, and while Doohan didn’t get off the mark in his six Grand Prix weekends, Gasly currently sits on seven points.

It’s a tally that team leader Flavio Briatore won’t be particularly pleased with, and he’ll hope Colapinto can quickly get up to speed and help the Frenchman deliver some top-10 finishes.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Alpine F1 Team from team principal to lineage

How Franco Colapinto can extend his Alpine stay beyond his first five races

When Colapinto was announced as Doohan’s replacement, Alpine’s statement suggested that he would be in the car for the next five weekends.

This seemed to come as a surprise to Briatore, who said there was ‘no set limit’ on how long the Argentine would be in the car.

Briatore has set his demands for Colapinto, but the financial benefits of having the 21-year-old in the car will help sweeten the deal even if he’s not hitting the heights expected of him.

Colapinto can secure his long-term Alpine future simply by matching Gasly or getting as close to the Frenchman as possible.

Coulthard’s praise will be very welcome for the Argentine in that case, but there’s potentially another threat to his seat looming.

Alpine have been linked with Sergio Perez and considering how hard Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson have found being Max Verstappen’s teammates, the Mexican’s reputation is slowly improving, which could lead to a dramatic return to the F1 grid.