Kolapinto: I root for Messi harder than Antonelli!

      In Monaco, Franco Colapinto found himself among the drivers who received penalties for speeding in the pit lane; however, unlike most of them, it did not affect his final position – he finished second to last, nearly 49 seconds behind the leader. This was due to a collision with Carlos Sainz's Williams, but the stewards had no complaints against the Argentine Alpine driver because of it.

      On the other hand, Franco performed quite confidently in the two previous races, earning points in Miami and Montreal, and in Barcelona, he was asked to talk about the changes in his approach to work in 2026.

      However, the conversation did not start with that, but with football topics, because Kimi Antonelli, who also participated in the press conference, said that he is a big fan of Lionel Messi's talent, the captain of the Argentine national team in the World Cup starting today.

      Franco Colapinto: "I think in this regard I surpass Kimi because I support Messi more! (laughs) In my opinion, Argentina always has a strong team, and our footballers tend to perform better in difficult situations, at those moments when they feel the pressure. I don't want to say that we will become champions again because some of our opponents might be unlucky, but I hope the championship will be interesting, and we will all enjoy it.

      Of course, the championship in 2022 was wonderful; everyone in Argentina was very pleased with its results, and let's hope this championship goes well too.

      Speaking of my season, I should note a few points. Overall, I have simply become more comfortable behind the wheel of the Alpine car; I feel it much better, it behaves more predictably and stably. I think after the April break, starting from the Miami race, everything is going in the right direction; we have taken a number of correct steps, figured some things out, and this has really helped me.

      This year, results depend on many factors, including the approach to energy management, and I think that after the break in the season, we managed to achieve stability in this area. I understand the Alpine A526 better than last year's car."

      The FIA has accepted for consideration the request from the factory team of the Renault group, which is trying to contest the results of the Monaco Grand Prix, believing that the penalties given to Pierre Gasly were issued in error.

      "Of course, we are looking forward to the decision," Colapinto added. "Certainly, I believe that in Monaco, you can cut that left curve a bit at the entrance to the pit lane without going outside the track, and we could definitely do that. Therefore, due to the difference in distance, it might have seemed that we were speeding, although we were not. I hope the team can achieve a review, and we will receive some information soon."