Flavio Briatore has hinted that Alpine could make a new attempt to sign Franco Colapinto for the F1 2026 season, stressing that the Williams driver should be seriously considered for a race seat.
Colapinto impressed many after stepping in for Logan Sargeant at Williams in August, scoring points in two of his first four races in Azerbaijan and the United States.
The Argentine’s quick impact caught the attention of some major F1 teams, including Red Bull, where Colapinto was briefly considered as a possible replacement for Sergio Perez.
While Alpine confirmed their driver lineup for the 2025 season with Pierre Gasly and Jack Doohan at the Dutch Grand Prix, there were rumors that the team might still be interested in Colapinto.
A photo taken at the Qatar Grand Prix showed Colapinto and his manager, Maria Catarineu of Bullet Sports Management, talking to Briatore in the paddock.
Despite these rumors, Alpine’s focus shifted after Doohan made his F1 debut at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and it’s believed that Alpine’s interest in Colapinto for next season has cooled following some costly on-track mistakes.
Colapinto is expected to remain as Williams’ reserve driver for the start of the 2025 season, as the team has already committed to Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon as their race drivers.
However, Briatore has raised the possibility that Alpine could renew their interest in Colapinto for the 2026 season, saying that the team must consider every chance to sign the talented young driver.
He told German publication Auto Motor und Sport: “I’m interested in any driver who is fast. Colapinto surprised everyone, but we have contracts with Gasly, Doohan, and [Paul] Aron for next season. If there was an opportunity to get Colapinto for 2026, you have to think about it. Nevertheless, you always have to be careful when assessing drivers. In this sport, you quickly get hyped up after a good race. Then the price rises, and suddenly we’re talking about 20 or 30 million dollars.”
Briatore also discussed the growing pool of promising drivers in F1, saying, “Today, there are six to seven promising drivers in Formula 2 and Formula 3. We want to concentrate on the good ones in our academy and no longer run around with a watering can. It will probably come down to three drivers: Aron, [Gabriele] Mini, and [Victor] Martins.”
The F1 scene is going through a generational shift with veteran drivers like Valtteri Bottas and Kevin Magnussen leaving, and potentially Sergio Perez as well. In 2025, Doohan will be one of four rookies on the grid, along with Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), Oliver Bearman (Haas), and Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber/Audi F1).
Red Bull junior Isack Hadjar, who finished second in the F2 standings behind Bortoleto, could also earn a race seat for 2025 if Perez is replaced by Liam Lawson, leaving a spot open at Red Bull.
Briatore sees the difficulties faced by Sainz in securing a top seat for 2025 as part of this generational change. He credits former Alpine junior Oscar Piastri’s success at McLaren for making teams more willing to trust young drivers.
He explained: “It is now time for a generational change. Sainz is a very good driver, but when he was on the market, none of the top teams took him on. They prefer to go for young drivers.
Toto Wolff on Antonelli, Christian Horner on Lawson. Young drivers are hungrier than someone who has a wife and two children and €30-40million in the bank. Even Enzo Ferrari said that drivers slow down when they have children. I think the rise of Piastri has made people think.
Bearman jumps into a Ferrari overnight [in Saudi Arabia] and drives a great race. The young drivers are much better trained and the competitive pressure is higher.”
Reflecting on his brief stint with Williams in Abu Dhabi, Colapinto said he thought he had done a “pretty good job” after being unexpectedly promoted to a race seat.
He told media, including PlanetF1.com: “It was very exciting. It was my dream come true. And since I started in Monza, I knew a lot of things had to happen and I had to learn a lot and I had to keep moving forward. And I think when you look at the bigger picture that doesn’t happen many times in F1. You are as good as your last race and I think that’s how Formula 1 works.
Looking at the bigger picture, I think I did a pretty good job. I tried to maximize the opportunity that Williams gave me. It was an incredible chance and I think something I respect a lot. James [Vowles, team principal] and Sven [Smeets, sporting director], everyone in the team, put the confidence and the trust to give me a seat and to give me that opportunity.
I think Vegas was quite tough. Being tough on me, I think, it was a pretty big mistake going for it in the last lap in quali, trying to put the car in Q3. That’s where I look back and I just think that some mistakes could have been avoided, but I think looking at the overall picture and the experience was my dream come true. Very excited to see where the future departs.”
