Franco Colapinto had to dig deep to finish the Chinese Grand Prix after a collision with Esteban Ocon, according to former Formula 1 driver and Sky Sports F1 analyst Antony Davidson.
The Argentine driver was hit by Ocon while exiting the pit lane on lap 33 of the 56-lap race, as both drivers battled for the final points-paying positions at the Shanghai International Circuit on Sunday.
Despite the significant damage sustained to his Alpine A526, Colapinto was able to continue and ultimately crossed the finish line in tenth place.
The Alpine team acknowledged the extensive damage to the car, which impacted Colapinto’s pace in the final stint and prevented a potentially better result. He finished within striking distance of Carlos Sainz, but was unable to make the pass.
“I spoke to some of his engineers at the airport after the flight, and they said his car had so much damage after that contact that he really had to hold on until the finish,” Davidson revealed on the The F1 Show podcast from Sky Sports F1.
“So to come away with a point… yes, he would have wanted more. It’s good that he wants more. It shows where Alpine are at the moment and that they’re hungry for more points.”
Franco Colapinto, Alpine
Photo by: Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images
Davidson, who also works as a simulator driver for Mercedes in addition to his TV analyst role, praised Colapinto’s overall performance at the Chinese Grand Prix, where he initially ran inside the top six before being affected by a safety car period.
“He had a tricky moment getting into the car last year after Jack Doohan, obviously, left the team or gave up the seat for Franco to come in, and that’s never easy.”
“I think he built a really good weekend and, in fact, was doing a great race, with a particularly mature head on his shoulders, before the incident with Ocon, which he admitted himself was his mistake going for a gap that was closing. We all know the story there.”
Colapinto’s performance in China came alongside a strong race from teammate Pierre Gasly, who finished sixth, allowing Alpine to secure both cars in the points. For Davidson, this was a welcome sight after a shaky start in Australia.
“Alpine was one of the teams that, even before the start of this year, I thought would make the biggest progress compared to last year. Melbourne was a bit unstable and I thought: ‘I hope this doesn’t continue.’ But yes, in Shanghai they really turned things around and, hopefully, as Steve Nielsen said, that’s the kind of performance they were expecting from the car.”
The Brit admitted he would have liked to witness how the race would have unfolded if the McLaren cars hadn’t experienced issues before the start.
“I would have loved to have seen McLaren in that fight. I think they would have been close to the battle between Haas and Alpine, but we’ll never know because they didn’t even take the start, which is very disappointing for them, for us, and for all the fans.”
“So Alpine is making good use of the material they have and also the power unit they are carrying. It’s very good to see.”
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