Briatore Praises Colapinto, Blames Car for Alpine's Struggles

Flavio Briatore, a key figure associated with the Alpine Formula 1 team, acknowledged the potential of driver Franco Colapinto but pointed to the car's performance as the critical limiting factor. "The problem we have is the car. The driver is the last detail," Briatore stated, emphasizing that driver skill cannot overcome fundamental chassis deficiencies.

During the Monaco Grand Prix weekend, Colapinto qualified 15th, while his teammate Pierre Gasly secured 10th place. Both Alpine cars exhibited a tendency to lock their brakes and experience front-end sliding, issues that are particularly detrimental on the tight, twisty streets of Monaco. This performance places them significantly behind the leading contenders, including Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, and Max Verstappen.

Briatore's assessment comes after a session where the Alpine cars struggled to match the pace of their rivals. The gap between Gasly and the fastest driver, Hamilton, was over 1.4 seconds, and Colapinto was even further behind. This deficit is considerably larger than what Colapinto experienced in the previous race in Canada, highlighting the specific challenges the car faces on circuits like Monaco.

The team's technical limitations are evident, with the chassis struggling on the demanding Monaco circuit. The performance gap suggests that significant improvements are needed for Alpine to compete effectively. Briatore's comments underscore the team's focus on addressing the car's inherent issues, suggesting that driver changes or adjustments are secondary to enhancing the vehicle's overall performance.

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The problem that we have is the car. The driver is the last detail.