Who Is Alpine’s New F1 Star Franco Colapinto?

Following a frustrating beginning to his Formula 1 career, the Australian driver Jack Doohan has been substituted for the Alpine An F1 team's reserve driver Franco Colapinto The change will have Colapinto competing for the French squad starting with Formula 1’s upcoming race in Imola, covering at least five Grand Prix events.

Read Also: Alpine announces Colapinto will replace Doohan starting at the Imola F1 Grand Prix.

The 21-year-old racer joined Alpine As a backup driver earlier this year, after having competed for the Williams In 2024, an F1 team brought him in to take over from a driver who wasn't performing well. Logan Sargeant .

Colapinto was born on May 27, 2003, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He started his karting journey at age ten. Initially competing domestically in his hometown, he continued participating until 2017 before transitioning to European competitions. In 2018, after winning gold at the Youth Summer Olympics, Colapinto concluded his stint with go-kart races.

In 2018, Colapinto moved up to the F4 Spanish Championship for the first time, competing for Drivex School. That initial season saw him finish in ninth place. However, he improved significantly the following year when he secured an overall win in the championship.

For 2020, Colapinto took another step up the racing ladder with a move to Formula Renault Eurocup and the Toyota Racing Series, finishing third overall in both series.

Budget constraints forced Colapinto’s next move, and from 2021 he raced in sportscars and entered the Asian and European Le Mans Series, as well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The switch didn’t last long, however, and Colapinto contested his first Formula 3 season in 2022 with Van Amersfoort Racing. After taking two race wins in his debut season and finishing ninth in the standings, he was signed on as a Williams The academy driver for 2023 transitioned to MP Motorsport in the F3 series.

Two race wins and a fourth-place finish overall secured his promotion to F2 for the following season, and Colapinto also had his first taste of F1 machinery at a post-season test in Abu Dhabi in 2023.

Franco Colapinto, MP Motorsport

Photograph courtesy of: Formula Motorsport Ltd

Colapinto’s Formula 2 campaign began slowly in 2024, but his luck changed after an in-season test held in Spain. Following this, he secured his maiden victory during the sprint race at Imola and consistently emerged as a formidable contender near the top of the leaderboard.

Williams continued Colapinto's preparations for F1 and he completed FP1 at the 2024 British Grand Prix, which allowed him to get acquainted with the Williams FW46. Soon, he was given the Williams seat full-time after the Grove-based team decided to part ways with American racer Sargeant.

This provided Colapinto with nine opportunities to demonstrate his capabilities at Williams, where he achieved his finest result of an eighth-place finish during the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. His performance led to speculations about him potentially joining the Red Bull team for the 2025 season; however, these rumors were dampened due to two significant accidents in Las Vegas and Brazil, highlighting his lack of experience, thus deterring Red Bull from pursuing him further.

The 21-year-old was later brought aboard by Alpine as a reserve driver for the 2025 season, serving primarily in the simulator role and standing ready on the side until his opportunity arose.