Alpine’s decision to fire Jack Doohan just six rounds into last season looked less brutal than it was only because Red Bull had axed Liam Lawson four rounds earlier.
Even so, come the end of the season it was debatable whether Doohan’s replacement Franco Colapinto had proved himself an obviously superior replacement, particularly considering he arrived at the team with more grand prix experience than poor Doohan had when he left.
However it was undoubtedly true that Alpine’s uncompetitive A525 was not a car to make a good first impression in. Pierre Gasly coaxed it into the points every now and then, something Colapinto never managed.
Now embarking on his first full season as a grand prix driver, Colapinto looks a much closer match for Gasly than he did last year. There is an interesting comparison to be drawn between Gasly and his former Alpine team mate Esteban Ocon: both have promising junior talents alongside them, but Oliver Bearman is posing more of a problem for Ocon than Colapinto is for Gasly.
That said, Colapinto has regularly followed along somewhere close behind Gasly, boosted Alpine’s points-scoring and accepted the ‘number two’ role when he’s had to. Colapinto was hard done by in Shanghai, when he finished 10th after being knocked into a spin by (ironically enough) Ocon.
When comparing their points haul it is also worth bearing in mind Gasly’s Monaco Grand Prix podium finish is subject to a challenge from rival teams over the post-race cancellation of his two pit lane speeding penalties. But even if Gasly keeps those points, Colapinto’s contribution to the team’s points score is very respectable. It’s hard to imaging the team wanting to replace him – unless a top-line driver seeking a car with a Mercedes power unit suddenly appears on the market.
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Unrepresentative comparisons omitted. Negative value: Gasly was faster; Positive value: Colapinto was faster
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Published by
Keith Collantine