It proved to be an unrewarding Canadian Grand Prix for Franco Colapinto, who looked set to earn his first ever points with Alpine F1 but had to settle for a 13th place finish. 

“A tough afternoon for us and certainly not what we expected or wanted,” he told the Alpine team after the race. “Points are the target and we were a bit unfortunate on strategy and reaching traffic, which impacted our race.”

The Argentine felt “the car had good pace” during the race and aimed at finding where the team can improve, although he admitted they expected the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve to be “challenging” for the team.

“We can certainly take positives from some parts of the weekend,” said Colapinto. “I am happy with the progress I made through the weekend despite the end result and for sure I want to continue that into Austria.”

His words were echoed by teammate Pierre Gasly, who had his race suffer after starting from the pitlane, and couldn’t make many gains despite going on an alternative strategy. 

“It was a frustrating afternoon being stuck behind cars and struggling on the straights to make any overtakes,” he said. “We need to aim to start higher up on the grid as for sure we can be much more competitive with better track position.”

Strategy was a contention point for Alpine in Canada. Colapinto didn’t hide his disappointment after the race, saying the team didn’t pick “the right strategy” and blaming “a bit of bad luck” with how the race progressed for their drop in the standings.

However, he shared a more positive outlook a few hours later. “Good weekend, positive steps,” he posted on his Instagram after the race. “So close to the points, they will arrive sooner rather than later. We’ll keep learning, let’s push for more! Come on Alpine!” His sentiment was echoed by the team’s official account, who replied “Come on Fran! Let’s keep working together!”

Alpine-owners Renault’s CEO announces departure

Colapinto wasn’t the only one caught in a difficult situation in Canada, as Renault CEO Luca de Meo announced he was to step down from the position on Sunday.

The French car manufacturer is the owner and parent company of Alpine’s car production business and Formula 1 team, which was known as Renault F1 from 2002 to 2010 and then from 2016 to 2020.

De Meo became CEO of the Renault Group in 2020, with the renovation of the Renault Sport and Alpine brands as one of his key goals. 

“There comes a time in one’s life when one knows the job is done,” said De Meo in a statement released jointly with the company. “At Renault Group, we have faced immense challenges in less than five years! We have achieved what many thought impossible. Today, the results speak for themselves: they are the best in our history. We have a strong team and an agile organization”De Meo was one of the voices behind pulling the plug on its Formula 1 engine operations ahead of the new power unit regulations for 2026, with Alpine set to move to Mercedes engines customer deal next season.

He was also a key backer behind the hiring of Colapinto. In an interview for Renault’s Argentine branch in February 2025 he said that the 22-year-old was “a very talented kid, eager and hungry for wins,” and that he “loved having him on the team.”

“[Team executive advisor Flavio] Briatore made a great choice,” he added. “We’ll back him so he can realize his potential so he can develop in F1.”