Franco Colapinto capped a standout Miami Grand Prix weekend with a career-best seventh place, earning his second points finish of the season and underlining Alpine’s recent step forward. After Sunday’s 57-lap race, the Argentinian said he was "proud to put in that performance."
Colapinto qualified eighth, out-qualifying team mate Pierre Gasly for the first time this season while running Alpine’s updated package. In the race he battled with Lewis Hamilton on the opening lap and took the chequered flag in eighth before being promoted to seventh following a post-race penalty for Charles Leclerc.
The result came at the end of a memorable week for the 23-year-old, who performed demonstration runs in Argentina in front of 600,000 home fans. He drove a 2012 Lotus E20 — wearing updated Alpine colours — and a replica of Juan Manuel Fangio’s Mercedes W196, describing the experience as "one of my dreams to drive in Argentina" ahead of his Miami outing.
"Really happy. It's been a very good weekend," said Colapinto. "Since the start, it's been very competitive, we've been up there from Free Practice without knowing the track. Every session we executed it perfectly and I'm very happy for the points today.
"The team has done a very big effort to bring parts for the car, bring upgrades, new chassis. It's been very hectic in the factory during this break but also very useful. Very proud to put in that performance that we need and show the speed of the car this weekend. It has been very positive."
Colapinto’s previous best Formula 1 finish was eighth at the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix when he was driving for Williams. His Miami performance represents a clear affirmation of Alpine’s progress and his growing comfort at the front end of the midfield.
"When you have the pace suddenly everything becomes much easier and not being on the back foot," he added. "It's been much better this weekend and feel very strong."
Alpine will look to carry this momentum into the upcoming rounds as they continue to evaluate the impact of their latest upgrades across different circuit profiles. How the A-series package translates beyond Miami will be the next key indicator of the team’s trajectory.
---
*Originally published on [News Formula](https://newsformula.one/article/colapinto-proud-after-career-best-p7-as-alpine-upgrades-pay-off). Visit for full coverage.*
