These were the words of Jacques Villeneuve, who had already questioned the Alpine driver earlier this year, following his stint with Williams.<\/p>\n
Jacques Villeneuve, former Formula 1 champion in 1997, once again lashed out at Franco Colapinto, just as he did at the beginning of this year, after the promising debut of the Argentine in the top category with the Williams team, and before he was confirmed as a reserve driver for Alpine for a season that ultimately ended with him as a main driver.<\/p>\n
This time, the former Canadian driver specifically targeted the renewal of confidence that the 22-year-old from Buenos Aires received from his current team, which will allow him to start the 2026 season as a main driver.<\/p>\n
\u201cColapinto is nothing more than a pay driver who finances the team. It wasn\u2019t his results on the track that justified this contract extension with Alpine. He\u2019s shown flashes of speed, but he\u2019s not consistent,\u201d Villeneuve shot, in statements reproduced by the Italian website Formula Passion.<\/p>\n
In fact, these were not the first criticisms the North American had directed at Colapinto. They were (or seemed to be) a continuation of the remarks he made in January 2025, days after the Argentine was confirmed as a reserve driver for Alpine.<\/p>\n
By then, the absolute debut of the driver from Pilar in Formula 1 was behind him, as were the points he earned in Baku, where he finished eighth, and in Austin, where he finished tenth, with Williams, the team with which Villeneuve became champion in the \u201890s.<\/p>\n
Villeneuve then focused on some mistakes the young Argentine made during those Grands Prix he raced in 2024. \u201cI\u2019m not sure what will happen with his future. He\u2019s still a fast driver. But what he showed is that he didn\u2019t judge the situation well,\u201d he emphasized at the time.<\/p>\n
Now, the Canadian\u2019s statements reached the cell phone of an Argentine former driver with whom he shared the track at Interlagos in 2009, during the first race that the then Top Race V6 held in S\u00e3o Paulo.<\/p>\n
This was Juan Cruz \u00c1lvarez, who was in that Brazilian city a few days ago to accompany Colapinto during the Grand Prix there, and who this Monday fired back at the Canadian on the same social media platforms where he usually posts messages of support for the Buenos Aires native.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust save the post and enjoy in a few months, looks like the hair dye got to his brain,\u201d the driver from Arrecifes quipped, referring to the hair color the Canadian sported in a photo.<\/p>\n
He then compared Villeneuve\u2019s criticism of Colapinto to another made by Ralf Schumacher about Lewis Hamilton. \u201cSee? These resentful ex-drivers don\u2019t just pick on Franco\u2014it\u2019s general! Some people just age really badly, unfortunately\u2026.\u201d \u00c1lvarez remarked.<\/p>\n
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in \ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddf8 here.<\/a><\/p>\n
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