In what would come as a troubling development for Franco Colapinto, Alpine team boss Flavio Briatore has made it clear that the only way to stay with the team is by performing. The Argentinian caught the eye of the F1 paddock when he made his debut with Williams as a replacement for Logan Sargeant.
The driver was on the pace instantly, which came as a surprise to many that had seen Alex Albon dominate every teammate at Williams. Since Carlos Sainz was due to join the team in 2025, there was no slot for Franco Colapinto at the squad, and that led to Alpine’s Flavio Briatore taking a punt on the young Argentinian.
In order to give Franco Colapinto a shot, Jack Doohan had to be moved aside even though the Australian had shown impressive pace by getting the better of Pierre Gasly in multiple qualifying sessions. The Argentinian hence joined the team amidst a lot of expectations.
His performances, however, have not been to the standard that many would expect of him. The first qualifying session in Imola saw Franco Colapinto have a massive shunt and hence an unimpressive race. Monaco was not much better for the Argentinian either.
Heading into the F1 Spanish GP, comparisons have been made with Jack Doohan, who arguably had a better start against Pierre Gasly at the team.
The question about Franco Colapinto’s future was put to Flavio Briatore during the press conference on Friday. The Alpine boss felt that it was too early to judge how good or bad the Argentinian is, however, he made it clear that the future of the driver within the team depends on performance, and if that’s not there, Colapinto will not be in the seat. He said,
“Franco Colapinto we need to wait one second to judge Franco. We see. We see this race. We need the full race. We did Monte Carlo. It was a very special race for everybody. We made a lot of mistakes in qualifying. And in Monte Carlo, you know, qualifying well is the race. Especially this race. Monte Carlo, it was very boring and very annoying. Let’s see. This is the first real race of Franco. Races, I don’t know, honestly. I never tell five races, three races, four races, one race. We see.”
He added,
“If Colapinto is performing, he’s driving the car. If not, we’ll see. 2025 is a year we need to prepare ourselves for 2026. So whatever experiment I need doing, we’re doing. I don’t know at this moment if Franco will stay for the season or not, but let’s see. Depends on the performance. We’re only looking at the performance — nothing else.”
Franco Colapinto is the 3rd Alpine driver since Briatore took over
Since Flavio Briatore took over things at Alpine, one area that has seen a lot of turbulence is the driver lineup. The Italian was not a huge fan of Esteban Ocon, and the French driver was sent packing before his farewell race in Abu Dhabi. Ocon was replaced by Jack Doohan, who always had a sword hanging over his head.
Even before the start of the season, there was a sword hanging over his head, and ultimately that was exactly what happened, as the Australian was fired for Franco Colapinto on a weekend where he out-qualified teammate Pierre Gasly. The Argentinian would know that Flavio Briatore can be very fickle in his approach, as has been in evidence in his previous stint in F1.
The only way to keep his seat will be by performing well, and if the driver is able to do well, he will have a longer rope within the team.
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Edited by Charanjot Singh Kohli
