Alpine boss Flavio Briatore drops a big hint on Franco Colapinto’s F1 future with the team

Alpine’s executive advisor, Flavio Briatore, has suggested that Franco Colapinto could remain with the team beyond 2025. The Italian highlighted the importance of stability, suggesting that retaining both current drivers, Pierre Gasly and Colapinto, is crucial to their rebuilding process.

While the decision has not yet been finalized, Briatore’s message was clear: Alpine wants continuity in a year where progress has been hard to find. Beginning the campaign with Jack Doohan alongside Gasly, Alpine made the change after six races, giving the 22-year-old Argentinian his first full-time Formula 1 seat.

Colapinto's performances in Formula 2 and as a Williams junior had built a solid reputation. But stepping into an A525 that has struggled all year made his start anything but easy. Ten Grands Prix in, Colapinto is yet to score a point, with all of Alpine’s 20 points this season coming from Gasly, as the team lies at the bottom of the Constructors' standings.

Briatore, who has led the team since his return to the paddock last year, acknowledged Colapinto’s rocky start but argued that stability is what Alpine needs most now.

"The team needs stability, and the possibility of keeping the same two drivers is part of that stability. At the moment, we haven’t decided yet, but normally, stability means keeping them both. The most important thing is to make a car that performs," Flavio Briatore told France 24.

Stability has been missing at Alpine in recent years. Since 2022, they have gone through five driver changes, including Franco Colapinto. Gasly has been the constant since he arrived in 2023, and the recent contract extension until 2028 underlines his role as Alpine’s cornerstone. The focus now shifts to whether Colapinto will be confirmed as his partner beyond this season.

Pierre Gasly (10) leads Franco Colapinto (43) during the F1 Dutch Grand Prix. Source: Getty

Colapinto has shown flashes of speed. He has escaped Q1 six times, and his best race finish remains 11th, agonizingly close to a maiden top-ten at Hungary. At Monza, where Alpine’s weaknesses were brutally exposed, the rookie finished 17th, exactly where he started, while Gasly came home 16th after starting from the pit lane. Both drivers quickly turned the page toward Baku.

For now, Alpine’s immediate priority is not driver changes but their 2026 project. With limited resources, Flavio Briatore made it clear that they cannot fight on two fronts - developing the current car while preparing for the major regulation reset.

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Flavio Briatore bullish about Alpine’s 2026 Mercedes-powered car: "We can make the podiums next year"

Flavio Briatore with Susie Wolff and Mercedes boss Toto Wolff at Lusail in 2024. Source: Getty

Alpine’s long-term ambitions have taken a new shape with their decision to abandon Renault’s in-house engine program and switch to Mercedes power from 2026. Renault will close its factory F1 engine operation to focus on broader engineering projects, and Alpine has chosen to align itself with the sport’s most successful hybrid-era supplier.

For Flavio Briatore, it marks a turning point. He believes that with these changes, Alpine will finally be free of the excuses that have haunted them in recent years.

"In 2026, we’ll have an engine like any other, it might be better, or not, but we won’t have any more excuses like we have now with the engine… We can make the podiums next year. We have the potential to be in the Top 6 and even in the Top 4 if everything goes well. I didn’t come back to play the tourist," Briatore added (via France 24).

Alongside the engine shift, Alpine’s new wind tunnel project signals a serious commitment to infrastructure. Flavio Briatore is confident that the upgrades, along with a stable driver lineup, will bring them closer to the midfield fight next year.

There was speculation around Alpine’s future in F1, with rumors of Renault pulling out altogether. But New Renault CEO François Provost and Pierre Gasly have made it clear at Monza that staying in F1 remains a priority. With Gasly locked in long-term and Franco Colapinto likely edging closer to a renewal, Alpine can now focus on the car that will define its future.