Argentine driver Franco Colapinto crashed out of the Q1 stint on Saturday for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, a disappointing end to his first-ever qualifying session with Alpine F1.

Having already set up a time good enough to qualify for the Q2, the Argentine was pushing in the closing minutes to improve the time, as most drivers do to secure their spot.

While improving his time, Colapinto rode too aggressively on the curbs on the exit of turn 1, lost control, and spun into the barriers. It proved a hard impact, coming in the same spot as Brazil’s Ayrton Senna’s fatal crash. The Argentine driver quickly confirmed to his team he was alright.

Colapinto’s time of 1:16.256 proved enough to move into Q2 in the 14th position, although he wasn’t able to take part in the remainder of the session. The 21-year-old will start the race in 15th spot, as times set in Q2 override the previous ones set by the qualified drivers.

The Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix is set to start on Sunday at 10 a.m. Argentina time.

Alpine’s Flavio Briatore says ‘no limit’ on Colapinto’s races

Despite the crash, Colapinto received some good news ahead of qualifying.

Key Alpine advisor Flavio Briatore, who’s currently working as team principal after the departure of Oliver Oakes, said there is no five-race limit for the Argentine driver.

“Franco will race as much as needed. I read somewhere that he’ll have five races, but no, there’s no set limit,” he told Sky Italia ahead of the qualifying. 

According to the team’s initial press release, the Argentine driver was to replace Australia’s Jack Doohan only for the next five races, and the team was eager to have a “fair assessment of the drivers” with their eyes on the 2026 season. 

Briatore’s words are the first hint from an Alpine higher-up that Colapinto could race past that initial deadline. However, he was very clear on what the Argentine has to do to keep his seat.

“He needs to be fast, not crash, and score points. I’m only asking him these three things,” he said. “If he does them well, he will drive forever.”