Franco Colapinto went out in Q2 and will start 16th at the Austrian F1 GP | OneFootball

The weekend at the Red Bull Ring has been an uphill battle for Franco Colapinto. In an extremely tight qualifying session in Spielberg, the Argentine Alpine driver was unable to find the optimal balance in his car and was eliminated in the second timed session (Q2). As a result, the Buenos Aires native will start from 16th position on Sunday’s starting grid.

A performance affected by the upgrades

Alarm bells had already started ringing in the Alpine garage during free practice, where Colapinto sounded visibly frustrated over the radio as he reported that the car “had gotten much worse” after the setup changes and the introduction of a new front wing. Although the team worked against the clock to reverse the poor feeling from FP3 — where he finished 14th — the one-lap pace was not enough to put him in the fight for the Top 10.

Sunday’s challenge: fighting back on Styria’s “roller coaster”

The Austrian circuit is known for its small margins and its three DRS zones, which usually lead to races with plenty of overtaking. Despite the uncomfortable starting position, Alpine’s race pace with a full tank has proven to be more competitive throughout the 2026 season.

Colapinto, who currently sits 12th in the world championship with 16 points, will look to take advantage of the long straights of the Austrian track to gain positions and once again break into the points.

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