Colapinto faces awkward Zandvoort comparison

Franco Colapinto admits he is in an awkward position at Zandvoort, with Alpine giving its only major upgrade package to Pierre Gasly.

The update was originally planned for both cars at Monza, but Alpine brought one package forward after encouraging simulator results, leaving Colapinto on the older specification for one more weekend.

"Yesterday I was thinking the exact same thing," Colapinto said when quizzed by journalists at Zandvoort.

"I was saying to myself, ’What is it that I really want? I don’t know.’"

The dilemma is obvious - staying close to Gasly would reflect well on Colapinto, but a large performance gap would suggest the upgrade itself is strong.

"In the simulator it seems to be very powerful and, if that’s the case, it will be very good for us," said the Argentine.

"It’s true that the greater the difference in downforce we achieve between the two cars, the better it will be for us. Of course, it seems that if it works perfectly, it could be a slightly painful weekend for me."

Colapinto nevertheless says the bigger priority is proving the package before it reaches his car at Monza.

"The factory has worked really hard," he said.

"It was an upgrade that was planned for Monza and for both cars, but it arrived here earlier than expected, which is already a good thing."

"Unfortunately, it’s only available for one car, but hopefully it will work and show that we can fight further up the grid during the latter part of the year."

Alpine badly needs the step after losing ground to Racing Bulls in the midfield battle, and Colapinto also sees an opportunity in Yuki Tsunoda’s temporary return to the cockpit.

"I think that as a team, we always have to try and seize opportunities, especially when we don’t usually have that chance," he said.

"If this gives us a chance to score some more points and get back into the top 10, then we’re going to try and make the most of it and maximise the opportunity."