Franco Colapinto’s future at Alpine was one of the most persistent stories in 2025, particularly in the first half of the year.
Initially, the question was if and when the Argentine would replace Jack Doohan. Alpine’s willingness to break Colapinto from his Williams contract hinted that he would be incorporated as a full-time driver not too long after being named reserve.
This is precisely how things played out, with Colapinto taking Doohan’s place at the Imola GP. Unfortunately for the #43 driver, Flavio Briatore was not satisfied with his early performances in the A525.
Several months later, however, the 75-year-old is now much happier with his newest signing.
Briatore praises Colapinto for end to 2025 season
Despite completing a considerable number of races for Williams last year, Colapinto began his 2025 campaign in a very awkward position.
Without any pre-season testing in the A525, the 22-year-old was forced to adapt quickly. In the slowest car racing in the most competitive midfield ever, this was a huge test for the youngster.
A few early incidents and unforced errors raised the scrutiny on Colapinto, who was given little grace by Flavio Briatore for his mistakes.
This meant it was crucial for the #43 car to raise its level after the summer break. Due to the A525’s limitations, points were essentially out of reach, regardless of performance.
Luckily for Colapinto, his deficit to teammate Pierre Gasly decreased considerably. Both in qualifying and race trim, the 22-year-old was either on par or even slightly faster than the Frenchman. This gave Alpine enough data to justify retaining him.
Flavio Briatore has since revealed this was crucial in the Argentine staying with the team for 2026:
“I have spent a lot of time with Franco and I have seen a change in him. The maturity in the last few months has changed completely…
“He understands what he is doing with the team, with the engineering, he has really surprised me. In the beginning, I had a lot of people in the team who were not convinced about Franco’s performance.
“I kept going with Franco, and now everyone believes Franco is fantastic for us and is the right teammate for Pierre.
“If you look at the last races, touch wood, there have been no accidents and he’s been driving very well. He’s been very close – two tenths up, two tenths down to Pierre – and I consider Pierre one of the best drivers in Formula 1…
“My job is to deliver the right car for Pierre and Franco next year.”
No more excuses for Alpine
This is not the first time that Alpine’s driver situation has taken centre stage. Changes in the French squad’s line-ups have been a regular theme during the ground effect era.
Still, this instability has not overshadowed the main issue at the team – uncompetitive machinery.
This year was Alpine’s worst finishing position in F1 history, ending the season firmly in last place. With a new generation of cars set to debut in 2026, next year is a change for the factory in Enstone.
Moreover, Alpine will have the benefit of Mercedes engines from 2026 until 2030. Blaming poor results on an underpowered engine is therefore no longer an option for a team under immense pressure to produce a competitive package.
It was only three years ago the French team finished ahead of McLaren in the first year of the ground effect era.
Going from ‘best of the rest’ to plum last is a dramatic downfall, especially for a manufacturer team. Having committed to big changes ahead of next year, there will be nowhere to hide at round one in Albert Park.
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Main photo: Sam Bagnall/Sutton Images (Alpine F1 Media Gallery)