Franco Colapinto: Running Out Of Track And Time

Ahead of this weekend's Formula One Grand Prix in the Netherlands, it’s ‘Double Dutch’ as to how the Argentinian still occupies a seat.

By any metric, Franco Colapinto is surely on borrowed time in the driving seat for Alpine.

After eight races, pressure is building on the 22-year-old Argentine who has failed to score a point and struggled to keep pace with French teammate Pierre Gasly.

With the Dutch Grand Prix looming this weekend, there are no signs that Flavio Briatore, Alpine’s team principal, intends to change the Gasly/Colapinto pairing despite speculation that the Argentine’s days as an Alpine driver are numbered.

Colapinto’s management are reported to be preparing for an exit from the pinnacle of motorsport and exploring options in IndyCar and the World Endurance Championship, should Alpine end its partnership with him.

It is hard not to feel sorry for Colapinto with his Formula One career hanging in the balance, especially after he impressed the F1 grid with his performances at Williams last year.

But perhaps it is still harder to understand why Briatore, a man known for being fiercely competitive, results-driven and ruthlessly decisive, appears to remain steadfastly committed to a driver that has failed to deliver on the track.

In May, Briatore’s decision to “rotate” Colapinto into the team’s second seat alongside Gasly, shunting the Australian driver, Jack Doohan, into the wings, took many by surprise.

Briatore’s shake-up, with Alpine stating that Colapinto would replace Doohan for the next five race weekends, began with the Italian Grand Prix at Emilia-Romagna. In theory, Colapinto had up to and including the Austrian Grand Prix in late June to prove Briatore right but was given more track, with three further races, to demonstrate his worth.

The gamble, unfortunately, has not paid off.

To date, the Argentine’s highest finish is 13th, a position he secured at both the Canadian and Monaco Grand Prix.

In July, the Argentine failed to race in the British Grand Prix when he spun out on the final corner at Silverstone during qualifying. Alpine blamed a technical error amid unconfirmed reports that Colapinto had burned the clutch.

Earlier this month, Colapinto was involved in a huge crash at the Hungaroring during the 2026 Pirelli tyre test, at a cost of millions of dollars.

Thankfully, he walked away unscathed, but it was yet another setback for the young driver and another reason for Briatore to question if he is the right man in Alpine’s line-up.

When the decision was made to rotate Colapinto in, Briatore appeared to leave the door open for Doohan to return, with observers suggesting that perhaps now is the time to give the 22-year-old Australian another chance to prove himself.

Doohan, who is contracted to Alpine until 2027, failed to set pulses racing after debuting for the team at the end of the 2024 season. But how much that was due to the car and team set-up rather than the driver, is a point of contention.

The start of the 2025 season was a difficult one for the rookie, with Franco Colapinto announced as a reserve driver for Alpine in 2025, which immediately raised questions about Alpine’s faith in Doohan, putting what many believe was unnecessary pressure on the young Australian. With Doohan not having experienced F1 engineers, limited time to test the car and team principal Oliver Oakes resigning after a few races due to personal reasons, a picture is painted of a young driver given very little opportunity to prove himself.

After being replaced by Colapinto after just six races, Doohan’s performance comparisons since then suggest he has outperformed Colapinto on like-for-like metrics, and under more difficult conditions at the start of the season.

David Coulthard, former F1 driver and commentator, said that Doohan “hasn’t been given a fair crack of the whip in Formula 1” so far.

Amid rumours that Colapinto already has his eye on a future beyond Alpine, Briatore must be concerned that the focus of his second-seat driver is perhaps not where it should be.

With Formula One set to return after the summer break and just ten races left in the current season, Briatore still has enough track to reverse Alpine’s fortunes – but time is running out.

Related