Jan 24 (Reuters) - Formula One will see a new Franco Colapinto this season with the Argentine driver more mature and ready to help lift Alpine up the grid, according to the Renault-owned team's executive advisor Flavio Briatore.
The 22-year-old Colapinto replaced Australian Jack Doohan at Alpine last year but failed to score a point in 18 appearances as the team ditched upgrades and development to focus on the 2026 campaign.
Pierre Gasly ended up scoring all the team's points as Alpine finished 10th and last. Colapinto was the only driver, apart from Doohan, to end with a blank and he was outqualified 13-5 by his French teammate.
"The real problem of Franco (last year) was always the qualifying," Briatore told Reuters after the team launched their new car in Barcelona on Friday. "In the race it was the same level as Pierre.
"We work a lot with him, the engineers are working a lot with him. The environment around him is something completely different in the way we prepare the race, the qualifying. I'm very confident as well.
"He's more mature... last year he was a kid. Now he looks like a man."
Colapinto, who made his debut in 2024 as a mid-season replacement at Williams, said it felt very different to be starting a campaign from the beginning with a launch as a race driver.
"I've been working on myself a little bit," he said, responding to images on social media indicating he had put on more muscle over the break.
"You change as you mature, of course, and improve as a driver and as a professional athlete.
"This year it is very important for the team. For me personally I want to do well and I am putting in the work to try and have a good year with the team."
Briatore said at the launch he expected Alpine, now with a Mercedes power unit instead of a Renault engine, to be competitive and Colapinto agreed with that.
"As a team there aren't any more excuses," he said. "Power unit changed and regulations changed and we have to put the work and performance in now.
"Last year we were of course focusing on '26 and now '26 has arrived so it's the moment to go and get the results that the team deserve. Hopefully it's a fast car and we can have the results that we expected."
Alpine were champions in previous incarnations as Benetton and Renault but have a long way to go before they can beat fair and square the current big hitters McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari.
Testing starts in Barcelona on Monday with the Australian season-opening race in Melbourne on March 8.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Clare Fallon)
