Franco Colapinto handed serious warning by Alpine chief as Argentine fails to make a mark since replacing Jack Doohan

Franco Colapinto’s return to F1 has been anything but the understated brilliance he showed during his brief stint at Williams Racing, leaving Alpine chief Flavio Briatore far from impressed with him. The 22-year-old was brought in to replace Jack Doohan just six races into the season.

Upon his promotion to replace Doohan, the Argentine driver was handed three rules, which Briatore, communicating to the media, detailed: he needs to be fast, not crash the car, and score points for the Alpine team. However, things have shaped out in a way that departs from the expectations set for him by the Alpine boss.

Franco Colapinto crashed on his debut with the team during the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. The former Williams Racing driver has also failed to score points and has ended his three races with the Enstone team at the lower end of the standings.

Sharing his thoughts on Franco Colapinto’s performance so far, Briatore, in his interaction with the media outlet Sky Deutschland, detailed how unimpressed he has been with the performances of his new driver, but was still willing to give him some leeway.

“If I were to say now that I was happy, it would be a lie. I’m not happy at all. Now we have to see how the season develops for him. Of course, we also have to recognise that Franco [Colapinto] is very young and is under a lot of pressure from all directions, not just from Argentina. Now he's gradually finding his feet," he said.

“Franco is strong enough. In this job, you have to be able to regain your confidence as quickly as possible. So I hope he can do that quickly and get back on track,” he added.

Colapinto, who witnessed his return to F1 greeted with a flurry of mixed reactions, particularly considering how he replaced Jack Doohan, will have his focus on the upcoming Canadian Grand Prix, where he will hope to score his first points for the Enstone outfit.

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Flavio Briatore refuses to guarantee Franco Colapinto’s future

Flavio Briatore also opted against offering any guarantee regarding the future of Franco Colapinto with the Alpine team. The Italian motorsports chief stressed that his team will continue to evaluate their options regarding their driver pairing.

Franco Colapinto recently joined the Alpine team ahead of the 2025 season after his reported €20 million release clause was triggered by the French outfit. The Argentine driver, who initially was a reserve driver, was subsequently promoted following the Miami Grand Prix to replace Doohan. However, his string of underwhelming outings has triggered Briatore to hint at the possibility of replacing him even sooner than the six-race stint his predecessor lasted.

Sharing his thoughts with the media via Planet F1, the Alpine team boss stated:

“Races. I don’t know, honestly. I never tell five races, three races, four races, one race. We see. If [Franco] 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.”

Briatore is no stranger to making ruthless decisions when it comes to the removal and replacement of drivers. Quite famously, he was at the centre of the removal of Jenson Button in 2003, replacing the British driver with Fernando Alonso — a move that proved to be a masterstroke, given the success that followed the decision.