Cat-like reflexes and struggles: What did we learn from Franco Colapintos 2026 debut?

Argentine race driver Franco Colapinto had a complex start to the 2026 Formula 1 season, with a hard-fought debut at the Australian Grand Prix opener.  The 22-year-old, who had never previously participated in the first run of the season, finished 14th in a troubled race both for him and the series as a whole. With a brand-new generation of cars, new-spec engines, and even a new team on the grid, things were bound to get tricky. So what can we learn from Colapinto’s first time racing an F1 in the land down under? It’ll be a long, rollercoaster ride of a season During the Bahrain pre-season tests, Colapinto’s Alpine F1 had established itself as a serious candidate for the series’ “best of the rest” moniker behind the top four teams, but there was very little of that in Australia. Both Colapinto and French teammate Pierre Gasly struggled to find their pace in the qualifying session, starting 16th and 14th, respectively. In the race, it was only through grit and a healthy dose of luck that Gasly managed to finish 10th to pick up the first point of the season. “Based purely on the result, it’s not where we wanted to be,” Colapinto told Alpine F1’s media team. “There’s definitely some positives to take away with the race pace and data we gathered, which we can learn from for future races.”  Alpine F1 will certainly have room for improvement. The Mercedes F1 car that ran laps around the rest of the field is powered by the same engine as Colapinto’s car. However, understanding and extracting the most from that power plant will be a challenge. Colapinto was adamant that, despite the result, the team could be pleased “with how the car felt and performed,” considering “where [Alpine] started the weekend,” never breaking into the top-15 cars across all three free practice sessions. Colapinto remains a top-class prospect That’s not to say there was nothing to highlight from the Argentine driver’s race. In fact, he showed the world his talents behind the wheel just seconds into the race. Race starts were expected to be chaotic this season, with the new regulation cars requiring time to get the engine ready. It proved very much the case in Australia, as several cars had slow launches, throwing a spanner in the works for the cars behind. As the lights went out in Melbourne, two cars ahead of Colapinto had a bad launch: the Haas F1 of Oliver Bearman and the Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson.  Gasly quickly moved left to clear Bearman, and Colapinto followed, but he found no space as the British driver dived to avoid Lawson, who was barely moving off the line. In a split-second decision, Colapinto flicked his wheel to the right, then quickly to the left again to avoid the wall, barely missing either one. “I was actually lucky to finish the race, as it almost ended at the start with a scary moment trying to avoid [Liam] Lawson,” said Colapinto after the race. “I think I touched the wall, but thankfully, we didn’t suffer any serious damage, and we got through the first lap unscathed.” The move went unheralded at first but quickly gained traction when it was shown later. A video of the three podium finishers, amazed by Colapinto’s reaction before going to receive their awards, went viral on social media.  The official F1 account later uploaded a slow-motion take of the move, along with an edit showing it from Colapinto’s view, an aerial shot, and the view of the car behind him. Race winner George Russell from Mercedes later commended the Argentine driver on his social media, calling it the “save of the season.” Alpine’s still got a lot to learn While Colapinto’s race still gave a lot to talk about, it was undoubtedly going to be a steep hill to climb, and it had nothing to do with his skill at the wheel or the engine behind him. Very early in the race, it was announced that the Argentine driver was being investigated for issues with the “start procedure” of his car. Later, a clip of an Alpine mechanic pushing Colapinto’s car into the starting box ahead of the warm-up lap surfaced. Mechanics can’t come in contact with their team’s or any cars when in the final 15 seconds to the start, and Colapinto was given a stop-and-go penalty. It involves the offending car diving into the pits and remaining stationed on its box for 10 seconds before it’s allowed to return to the track. When the time spent driving at the pitlane’s 80km/h speed limit is compounded, it amounts to a big loss of time for the driver. “From where we started on the grid, it was always going to be difficult, and ultimately, the penalty for a start infringement cost us from fighting [closer to the leading cars],” Colapinto said.  While the Argentine admitted he felt the punishment was “a bit crazy,” he refused to point fingers. “We win and lose as a team, and we’re in it together.” Alpine’s managing director Steve Nielsen also commented on the incident, admitting it “ended any chances of [Colapinto] scoring points.” “This is something we, as a team, take on the chin and can only apologise to Franco”, he said.