Alpine gave Franco Colapinto a run in their 2023 F1 car at Zandvoort on Wednesday to prepare the Argentine for replacing Jack Doohan from the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
The Enstone crew took a trip to the home of the Dutch Grand Prix to conduct a pre-arranged Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) session for Colapinto. Yet their test also became a chance to get the 21-year-old ready for his Alpine debut, as they also demoted Doohan on Wednesday.
Doohan and Colapinto have traded roles, with the Australian now a reserve driver again and the Argentine joining Pierre Gasly as Alpine’s F1 race drivers. Flavio Briatore led the decision, which has long been expected since Alpine paid Williams £8.5m to sign Colapinto in January.
Executive adviser Briatore ultimately viewed the Miami Grand Prix as the final nail in the 22-year-old’s coffin after his first lap crash with Racing Bulls ace Liam Lawson. Doohan has cost Alpine more in repairs than any driver in 2025 after his costly crashes in Australia and Japan.
Franco Colapinto’s Zandvoort TPC test was slower than Alpine’s Pierre Gasly at the 2023 Dutch GP
Alpine have only confirmed Colapinto for the next five rounds of the 2025 F1 season, with a decision about their driver line-up for the rest of the term due before the British Grand Prix. But Colapinto has got off to a positive start ahead of his first race at the Emilia Romagna GP.
Colapinto’s TPC lap times cannot be compared to Gasly’s qualifying laps for the 2023 Dutch GP, as Q1 and Q2 at Zandvoort that term were run in wet conditions. Gasly set a 1:20.128 on intermediate tyres in Q2 as Alpine’s lead driver in P12 and also took a podium finish in third.
READ MORE: Who is Alpine 2025 F1 driver Franco Colapinto? Everything you need to know
But the first and second practice sessions for the 2023 Dutch GP were run in dry conditions, which gives Alpine benchmarks through Gasly and former teammate Esteban Ocon they can compare Colapinto’s TPC lap times to. Alpine may also be happy with Colapinto’s TPC laps.
Reports by Formule1.nl claim ‘insiders’ recorded Colapinto’s lap times at Zandvoort amid his TPC run in Alpine’s 2023 car the A523 in the region of one minute and 12 seconds. Ocon set Alpine’s fastest time during FP1 for the 2023 Dutch GP with his 1:12.802 to Gasly’s 1:12.895.
Track conditions improving amid the more representative FP2 session for the 2023 Dutch GP saw Alpine’s drivers improve their lap times, with Gasly setting their pace with a 1:11.766 to Ocon’s 1:12.001. So, Colapinto’s TPC laps at Zandvoort this Wednesday were not too shabby.
Alpine may expect Franco Colapinto to meet their expectations after his Zandvoort test
Colapinto lapping Zandvoort with Alpine’s car from two seasons ago just slightly slower than Gasly and Ocon both managed at the 2023 Dutch GP will encourage the Enstone squad. The Argentine’s lap times may also leave Alpine chiefs feeling he should meet their expectations.
Alpine only want Colapinto to perform OK to keep the seat beyond his initial five-round deal to replace Doohan. His debut for the Renault-owned team coming at Imola will also invoke a lot of happy memories for the 21-year-old after scoring his maiden F2 win there last season.
MP Motorsport saw Colapinto bounce back having been disqualified from P7 in the Monaco Feature Race over a start set-up procedure infraction to win the F2 Sprint Race at the 2024 Emilia Romagna GP. It was his one win in 20 races before his F1 debut for Williams at Monza.
