Buenos Aires, November 21 (NA) – Franco Colapinto had a difficult start to the Las Vegas Grand Prix, finishing twentieth in FP1 and sixteenth in FP2, without completing a fast lap on soft tires and showing structural performance issues with his A525.
According to Noticias Argentinas agency, the Argentine summarized the situation with a phrase that captured the overall picture: "I'm struggling to get good feelings from the car". The first contact with the Las Vegas Strip street circuit confirmed a problematic day.
As Colapinto described, the car had "very little grip at the rear" and an "unmanageable response at the back," which hampered any attempt to set a competitive pace. In FP1, he clocked a 1:36.758 and finished last, over a second behind his teammate, Frenchman Pierre Gasly.
FP2 showed a partial improvement, though insufficient. With a 1:34.824, he was sixteenth, again far from his teammate, and without solid references due to two red flags for a loose manhole cover that prevented consistent work with the soft compound.
Colapinto detailed that he failed to complete a representative lap on the soft tires, which complicated the analysis of the overall balance. "I feel quite uncomfortable with the softs. I'm still having some of the same problems as in FP1," he explained. He also noted that the lack of rear grip persisted in both sessions: "The rear had no grip at all and was quite difficult."
The driver linked some of the difficulties to the impact suffered in Brazil, which forced the use of a different chassis. "I feel different from the last races, and it may be due to the chassis change," he said.
Colapinto noted that the soft tire was even worse: "The soft tire was even worse." He also mentioned that the medium tire was better. "I'm back to that first part of the season that was harder for me. Hopefully, the other [form] will return in the next races," he added. "Tonight we will work hard with the team to see if we can take a step forward," he concluded.
Colapinto will return to the track this Friday at 21:30 Argentine time for FP3 and will compete in the qualifying session at 01:00 on Saturday. The race will take place on Sunday at 01:00, over 50 laps.
