RacingAlpine put Franco Colapinto back in the A526 at Silverstone on Wednesday and gave him the full 200 km allowed for a Formula 1 filming day, just days after the team publicly rejected online claims that he was being treated differently to Pierre Gasly.
The Enstone team confirmed the Silverstone run was its second and final filming day of the 2026 season. Gasly had taken the first one at the same circuit on January 21, before the campaign began, which meant Alpine split the workload evenly between its two drivers.
That timing mattered. After the Japanese Grand Prix, Alpine released an open letter dismissing what the team called “wild online claims” about Colapinto’s treatment and equipment. In that public letter, Alpine said Gasly and Colapinto had the same equipment in 2026, “barring some small low-performance impacting parts in China due to switching gearbox components.” The team added: “Franco is our driver and the team has placed its trust in him, just as he has with the team.” Alpine said in the same open letter that this showed Colapinto had “equal footing alongside Pierre” and that “any questions about sabotage or not giving Franco the same car are completely unfounded.”
Colapinto’s day in the car came during Formula 1’s April break before Miami, and Alpine used the outing very publicly. In a short video posted by Alpine on social media during the Silverstone run, Colapinto said: “We are doing a filming day. Lots to film, lots of cameras.” Colapinto, Alpine driver, added in that social media video that the running was limited: “Not many laps, 200k max. It’s around 30 laps.” He also explained why the day still mattered, saying it was useful “to get some more knowledge and to get also the blood flowing before we go to Miami.”
The extra track time followed a tough weekend for Colapinto at Suzuka. According to the race report, he qualified eight tenths slower than Gasly and finished 16th, while Gasly came home seventh. Gasly had already scored points in all three opening races, including sixth in China. Colapinto’s first point for Alpine also came in China, where he finished 10th.
Colapinto said after Japan that he wanted to use this gap to understand where the missing time was. “Now that there’s a break, we need to try and understand many things that we still don’t have an answer for and try to get better for Miami,” Colapinto, Alpine driver, said at Suzuka after the Japanese Grand Prix.
Silverstone did not answer every question around Alpine’s pace, and a filming day is tightly limited by the rules. But in action and in its own messaging, the team made its point clearly enough: Colapinto got Alpine’s final filming day, the full distance, and a visible show of backing alongside Gasly.