Franco Colapinto will have to wait one more race to enjoy the new improvements that Alpine has prepared to try to regain ground in the Formula 1. The French team will debut this weekend in Zandvoort an upgrade package on Pierre Gasly's car, while the Argentine will have to compete with the current version of his A526 and will only have the new parts at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza.
The decision is related to the limited availability of components. The development was originally planned for the Italian Grand Prix and for both cars, but the work done during the break allowed for an earlier debut in the Netherlands. In this context, Alpine decided to use a single package in Zandvoort to start gathering information on track and evaluate whether the updates achieve the expected performance.
Despite not having the improvements physically, Colapinto was able to learn about the behavior of the new car through the team's simulator in Enstone and was satisfied with the initial sensations. "In the simulator, the update seems very powerful and, if so, it will be very good for us," the Argentine assured.
"For now, it looks good in the simulator and the data indicates that it is a very strong and significant improvement, so we hope to take the steps we need to fight against the Racing Bulls and, hopefully, be ahead of them," he added.
However, the situation creates a particular expectation for Colapinto's weekend. The driver himself admitted with a laugh that he doesn't know which result he would prefer: a good performance from Gasly that confirms the improvements work or a parity that allows him to stay close to his teammate. "Yesterday I was thinking exactly the same thing. I was saying to myself: ‘What do I really want? I don’t know’," he expressed when this possibility was raised.
Beyond the discomfort of competing at a technical disadvantage, Colapinto appreciated the effort made by the Enstone factory. "The factory has really worked very hard. It was an update that was planned to arrive in Monza and for both cars, but it arrived here earlier than expected, which is already a good thing," he highlighted.
The Argentine also acknowledged that the early debut could represent a complicated scenario for him if the package shows a significant improvement from the first moment. "Of course, it seems that if it works fully, it could be a bit of a painful weekend for me, but I will do my best so that, together, we try to maximize the package we have," he noted.
The need for improvement is evident for Alpine, which currently occupies sixth place in the constructors' championship and seeks to regain ground in the midfield. Gasly explained that the team lost performance compared to its main rivals during the last races and trusts that the new parts will help reduce that gap.
"The last races before the summer break were definitely more complicated in terms of overall performance, and I think our development plan has been slightly delayed compared to the other teams we are fighting against," the Frenchman stated.
The challenge for Alpine will be even greater because Zandvoort will host a Sprint format, which reduces the time available to evaluate the behavior of the package before the decisive moments of the weekend. Therefore, the data provided by Gasly's car will have special value in determining whether the update meets expectations.
Meanwhile, Colapinto will have to wait until Monza to have the same tools as his teammate. The Argentine's goal will be to make the most of the performance of his current car and, at the same time, closely monitor the behavior of the new parts to arrive at the Italian Grand Prix with a concrete reference on what the update can bring him.
