Colapinto flags Monaco GP concern: “The biggest Saturday of the year” | OneFootball

The Argentine driver admitted he spent a lot of time in the simulator, working to shave off every last thousandth ahead of a Grand Prix where qualifying will be more important than the race itself.

Monaco. The Principality. That will be the next destination for Formula 1 in 2026, one of the most iconic races on the entire world championship calendar. And a race that, over the years, has turned into more of a social event than a competition. The increase in the size and weight of the cars has made overtaking practically impossible, and many times drivers end up finishing in the same position they started the race.

In 2025 there was just one on-track overtake, which shows how important Saturday is, the Grand Prix qualifying session. And while this season’s cars are somewhat smaller and it is easier to follow one another, it is clear that any overtake will still be quite a feat. With that in mind, qualifying will be crucial, and Franco Colapinto knows it well.

Speaking with Alpine’s official website, the Argentine acknowledged his concern about it, and how much he has worked to arrive as sharp as possible for that session, which will be critical to his race chances: “It’s probably the most important Saturday of the whole year. Luckily we’re back to a traditional weekend, we have to build confidence with the track in every practice session so we can go into qualifying in good shape. That’s where the key lies,” he said.

“I live in Monaco, so I’ve been watching all these past few days as they prepared the track. I can’t wait to get in the car for Friday practice,” said Franco, who also admitted he has been training a lot in the simulator for this race.

“It has been a very busy week for the team, beyond the weekend off after Montreal, I was in the simulator at Enstone on the Monday right after the race and although I went back to France for my birthday, I returned immediately afterward to the simulator to spend more time with the team before this European stretch,” Colapinto said.

Franco Colapinto comes into this after two consecutive points finishes with Alpine, in both Miami and Canada, and he now has 15 points in the world championship, just five behind his teammate Pierre Gasly, the main rival to beat this season.

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