Argentine race driver Franco Colapinto is set to compete in his first full season in Formula 1 in 2026. 

The 22-year-old had previously featured in the last nine races in 2024, but then missed the first six in 2025. That means it’ll be the first time he’ll race the season opener, having also participated in the pre-season testing in Bahrain over two weeks in February.

With the first race at Melbourne, Australia, set to green light on Sunday, March 8, what changes are coming to F1, and have they actually improved Colapinto’s odds for a solid 2026 season?

Sweeping changes are coming to Alpine F1 for the 2026 season. For the first time since Renault took ownership of the operation, the team will no longer produce its own engines. Instead, it’ll switch to a customer role with Mercedes-Benz after years of disappointment with the in-house-designed engines, one of the 2025 Alpine’s key weak points.

While the Mercedes engine is expected to be the class of the field for 2026 — despite controversy over its rule compliance — becoming a customer brings issues with developing the car as a complete package and how it all fits together.

Colapinto had his first experience with that at Bahrain, as his first outing with the car ended with him stranded on the track after just one and a half hours of running. His car was towed on a flatbed and returned to the garage,........

© Buenos Aires Herald