Argentine race driver Franco Colapinto hinted at a potential extension on his Alpine F1 deal at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix media day. 

The Argentine driver is initially set to replace Australia’s Jack Doohan only for the next five races. Asked about his contract’s extension at Thursday’s press round, Colapinto’s comments offered fans hope that he could stick around for longer.

“The main goal for us is to make the car quicker and improve the performance a bit,” he said. “It will take a few races to get up to speed and maximize everything on the car, probably more than five… After these five races, we will see what happens.”

It remains unclear what performance the Argentine needs to produce in order to extend his stay. The Renault-owned team currently sits second from the bottom in the Constructors’ Championship standings. Improving on Doohan’s zero points finishes and matching the pace of lead driver Pierre Gasly is a must for Colapinto.

The Argentine racer said he’s “really excited” to be back in a racing seat, admitting that, despite it not being his first time, he’s starting from scratch at Alpine. 

Colapinto had a blazing start to F1 life the previous season after replacing U.S. driver Logan Sargeant at Williams Racing. He produced solid performances in Italy, Azerbaijan, and Singapore, but retirements in Brazil, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi slowed down the young star’s rising stock.

“I’ve had a chance to reflect on last year and learn from it,” Colapinto said. “Those are never nice circumstances to step into a driver’s seat, but you can’t choose the circumstances you enter F1. You just have to make the most of it.”

He admitted putting in a lot of work at the simulators after receiving the news he’d be stepping in for Doohan. Yet, he chose to lower expectations.

“I have good memories of [the Imola racetrack],” he said. “I am trying to focus on myself; it’s tricky to have expectations when I’ve never driven the car.”