Franco Colapinto achieves his best sprint qualifying result in Miami: "We worked very well, and in the right direction."

Friday had started poorly for Franco Colapinto. The Argentinian himself admitted that the first few hours at the Miami International Autodrome were difficult, with a car that was hard to get to grips with and a lack of understanding of the setup, despite some satisfactory results. But the team managed to find the answers as the day progressed, and the improvement was evident in the very next session. “We managed to turn things around, because it was quite complicated at the start of the day and it took us a little while to understand how the car was behaving. We found some improvements, then we got into a rhythm and strung together some good laps, gaining speed and confidence with each session.”, résumé-t-il.

This return to form is all the more significant given that the sprint format leaves little time to adapt—just one free practice session before diving straight into the action. The result is noteworthy on a personal level. Eighth in Sprint qualifying, Franco Colapinto equaled his best qualifying performance—a result he had only achieved once before, during qualifying for the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Williams. By Alpine, his previous best result in the exercise was a 12th place in Montreal in 2025 (10th on the grid after Isack Hadjar's penalties and Yuki tsunoda) and in China at the start of the 2026 season. He also finished ahead Pierre Gasly for the first time since the 2025 Singapore Grand Prix grid.

In interviews, the Argentinian driver is more forthcoming about what has changed in his understanding of the car, and about what the comparison with direct competitors reveals: "The pace seems quite solid. Compared to the other cars in the midfield, we're pretty well positioned. Even compared to the Red Bull"And Isack [Hadjar] and Isack are competitive. We started with worn tires at the end and we were faster than him. The weekend here is shaping up well. It's looking much more positive for me than Suzuka. I'm very happy."

"There's more to come tomorrow."

From the management side ofAlpineCEO Steve Nielsen makes no secret of his satisfaction: “Franco delivered a very strong performance in his first Miami appearance, and we have two cars capable of fighting for points tomorrow, with the added bonus of a fresh set of soft tires preserved, potentially for the Sprint race. We will continue working to identify areas where we can gain performance to further close the gap to the front, but we can be satisfied with today and the competitiveness of our package.” With both cars reaching the final part of the exercise — a first since 2024 — and a set of soft tires being saved for the Sprint, Alpine finds itself in a favorable position for Saturday's race.

Franco Colapinto himself is careful not to get carried away, recalling that this result in sprint qualifying remains to be confirmed: “We worked very well, and in the right direction. I’m happy with today’s performance, but obviously it’s only the start of the weekend; there’s more to come tomorrow.” The true measure of the Argentinian's progress will come during qualifying for the Miami Grand Prix — a very different exercise from the sprint format, and one in which Alpine will have the obligation to confirm the competitiveness glimpsed this Friday.

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