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| Credit: Kym Illman/Alessio Morgese/NurPhoto via Getty Image |
Alpine executive adviser Flavio Briatore has raised some eyebrows with his latest comments about Franco Colapinto’s future, as the Argentine fights for his F1 seat.
Uncertainty continues to hang over Colapinto, with the 22-year-old still only in possession of a race-by-race contract to drive for Alpine in the 2025 F1 season. He initially got a five-race deal to replace Jack Doohan this May, but Briatore has so far opted to keep him in the A525.
Sources have told F1 Oversteer that Alpine have shocked a lot of the F1 paddock by keeping Colapinto in the A525 for so long. Many expected Briatore to reverse his decision and allow Doohan to get back in the car. Yet the Australian has had to settle for a seat on the sidelines.
Colapinto has largely failed to prove himself as an upgrade on Doohan, who Briatore canned after the first six rounds of the season. Alpine are still waiting to see Colapinto score his first point, with the Buenos Aires native’s average Grand Prix finish so far P15.2 from nine results.
Flavio Briatore criticised for narrowing Alpine’s 2026 shortlist down to Franco Colapinto and Paul Aron
It has been said that Briatore has studied the F1 driver market to find a potential alternative teammate for Pierre Gasly for 2026. Alpine have spoken with Zhou Guanyu about a possible return to F1. It is thought that Alpine hold an interest in McLaren junior Alex Dunne, as well.
But Briatore has now told The Race that Alpine will decide between retaining Colapinto next year or promoting their other reserve driver, Paul Aron, into a 2026 race seat. Briatore does not see “any other possibility” for Alpine’s 2026 F1 driver line-up among their other options.
Briatore’s public declaration that Colapinto or Aron will be Gasly’s teammate at Alpine next year has frustrated Tiff Needell. The ex-F1 driver believes there are “at least” four stronger candidates for the 2026 Alpine seat on the current Formula 2 grid than Colapinto and Aron.
He noted on X after Briatore’s claim: “So unnecessary to make such statements! There are at least four drivers on the F2 grid I’d put ahead of these two. But this is the Briatore way…”
What has Flavio Briatore said about Alpine’s 2026 F1 driver line-up plans?
It had already emerged that Aron is the most likely candidate to replace Colapinto if Briatore decides to rotate Alpine’s line-up again before the end of the 2025 season. But it is also now between the pair to fight over the final seat in Alpine’s driver line-up for the 2026 F1 season.
Juan Pablo Montoya doubts Aron is “the answer” for Alpine, should Briatore give the seat to the Estonian next year. Montoya wants to see Briatore sign a driver who can really challenge or even beat Gasly with equal machinery, but he questions whether Aron would be able to.
Aron has spent 2025 on the sidelines as Alpine’s reserve driver, while making FP1 outings for Sauber in Britain and Hungary plus for Alpine at Monza. The 2024 third-place F2 finisher has also impressed Briatore, who only needs “one or two” more races to decide Alpine’s line-up.
“It’s between Franco and Paul,” Briatore told The Race. “Paul is a very nice guy [and] a very quick driver, as well. And I need to understand what is best for the team, you know?”
He added: “My only interest is to try to take in the team the best driver available and do the best job with us. It is as simple as that. I need another one or two races to see. But honestly, today I don’t know [which one].”
- Kyle Archer
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