Franco Colapinto “hype not justified” as Russian racer gives his verdict on the Alpine driver

Franco Colapinto's former World Endurance Championship teammate, Roman Rusinov, opined that the hype around the Argentine is not justified as he always fails to live up to the expectations. Rusinov added that Colpainto has a tendency to commit a series of errors while trying to prove that he is fast.

Colapinto's debut in F1 with Williams Racing made him an overnight star as he clinched points in his second race at Baku. Despite not landing a seat for the 2025 season, the Argentine has been signed by Alpine as a reserve driver.

According to rumors, Apine has signed a five-year contract with Colapinto for approximately 10 million euros as the team's executive advisor Flavio Briatore is apparently highly impressed with the young driver.

However, Colapinto's former World Endurance Championship (WEC) teammate, Roman Rusinov, has criticized the former. Rusinov, who raced alongside the Argentine in the 2021 WEC season, opined that Franco is not as fast as people think he is.

Talking to Nextgen-Auto, Rusinov said (via Planet F1):

“For me personally, Franco Colapinto did not make a splash in Formula 1. Franco is a good driver in terms of lap times, but in terms of results, he has never lived up to expectations. He makes a lot of mistakes. Unfortunately, he doesn’t seem to learn from it. He just keeps trying to prove that he’s the fastest—and makes mistakes."

He added:

"In the six races that Franco has driven for us, he’s made five mistakes. In the only race where Colapinto didn’t make any mistakes, we won. So he’s a good driver and quite fast, but he’s still just a kid. Speed alone is not enough. I like Franco a lot; he’s a great guy, but usually all the hype around him is not justified by the end result.”

After scoring first in two of his four races in 2024, Colapinto had severe crashes in Las Vegas and Brazil. He faced three DNFs in six races last year.

---

Alpine boss clears air on rumors of Franco Colapinto replacing Jack Doohan

Franco Colapinto (Image Source: Getty)

Alpine signed rookie Jack Doohan for the 2025 season after parting ways with Esteban Ocon last year. However, with Franco Colapinto's signing, speculations over Doohan getting sacked mid-season gained steam.

Doohan's contract reportedly is limited to the first few races of the season, as Alpine could probably consider replacing him with Colapinto mid-season.

However, Alpine team principal Oliver Oakes has cleared the air, saying Doohan will have a fair chance to prove himself. Talking to James Allen on the F1 podcast last month, Oakes said (via Motorsportweek):

“It’s been a little bit harsh on Jack, some of the stuff that was written by the keyboard warriors there, and he’s getting his fair crack at it next year."

Franco Colapinto has generated a lot of buzz after his move to Alpine, but as Briatore confirmed earlier, Jack Doohan will start the upcoming season for Alpine as Pierre Gasly's teammate.