Colapinto Secures Best F1 Finish at P7 in Miami GP

Franco Colapinto secured his best Formula 1 finish with seventh place at the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday, a result boosted by a lighter chassis and aerodynamic upgrades on his Alpine car, following a confidence-building demonstration run in Argentina.

The 22-year-old Argentine started eighth and navigated early contact with Lewis Hamilton at Turn 11 on the opening lap, an incident stewards deemed a racing matter with no further action required. Both cars sustained damage but continued, with Colapinto crossing the line eighth on the road. He advanced one spot after Charles Leclerc received a 20-second penalty for track limit violations on the final lap. Colapinto also outqualified teammate Pierre Gasly for the first time this season, taking eighth in qualifying, and finished 10th in the Saturday sprint.

Alpine managing director Steve Nielsen credited a new, lighter chassis, dubbed "chassis three," for providing pure performance gains. "Normally, when you make the first one, it turns out being the heaviest one and then, as you iterate, you make further chassis and they're lighter," Nielsen said. "Franco's got chassis three. It's lighter than chassis one, which is what he did...