Colapinto delighted after beating Gasly again: "My best Friday" | OneFootball

The Mexican Grand Prix of Formula 1 kicked off its activities at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez with an outstanding performance by Franco Colapinto, who once again stood out within the Alpine team. The driver from Pilar finished both Friday practice sessions ahead of his teammates: in FP1 he was ninth, surpassing Estonian Paul Aron while using Pierre Gasly’s car, while in FP2 he finished 18th, with his best lap at 1:18.721, beating the Frenchman by 0.473 seconds.

“In FP1 I really struggled to find the rhythm. The car is super harsh on the curbs, unmanageable. We made a couple of changes and improved a bit, but we’re still having the same big problems. That’s why we’re so far back,” recounted the 22-year-old after getting out of the car, highlighting the difficulties with his A525.

Despite those complications, the Argentine was satisfied with his individual performance and appreciated the progress made on his side of the garage. “Personally, it was a good day. One of my best Fridays, so I’m happy about that,” he said with a smile in an interview with ESPN, and then joked when asked about his overall feelings: “We’re…,” he said, laughing.

With his sights set on qualifying, the Buenos Aires native assured that the team would work hard to adjust the car. “We’re going to work and try to be better for tomorrow and for Sunday. We’re going to try,” he stated, optimistic for the rest of the weekend.

Later, in statements to Formula 1’s official channel, he delved into the technical analysis of the Alpine. “It was a good job. I think it’s been a good Friday so far. Personally, I’ve had good performance in the long runs and with less fuel. The car isn’t up to par, we really struggle over the curbs. We have to improve that. There are a lot of opportunities for tomorrow,” said the Argentine, focused on the car’s development.

The first session was notable for nine regular drivers giving up their seats to young drivers. In that context, Gasly was replaced by Aron, and Colapinto looked more solid throughout the session: he set a 1:19.331, 0.531 seconds ahead of the Estonian, and completed 28 laps that earned him ninth place.

During FP2, with Gasly back, Colapinto delivered another consistent performance and stayed in the middle of the pack with a time of 1:19.649 on his first run with medium tires. Then, switching to softs, he improved his time to 1:18.721, confirming his advantage over the Frenchman. Both drivers attempted new fast laps, but were unable to improve their times.

In the final part, Alpine simulated race conditions: Colapinto ran on used soft tires and Gasly on mediums, each completing 30 laps to optimize race pace.

The action will continue this Saturday with the final practice session starting at 2:30 p.m. (Argentine time) and qualifying at 6 p.m. The race will take place on Sunday at 5 p.m., with 71 laps ahead at the Hermanos Rodríguez.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.