Flavio Briatore confirms Franco Colapinto future following Alpine F1 announcement

Flavio Briatore has confirmed what the near future will look like for Franco Colapinto in F1 after Alpine delivered a major contract announcement at the Italian Grand Prix.

F1 returned to Monza last weekend for the 16th round of the championship, and though Alpine may be unsure of who will be sitting in their second seat next season, lead driver Pierre Gasly has committed his future to the team.

Ahead of qualifying for the Italian GP, Alpine announced that Gasly had signed a long-term deal to take him through to the end of the 2028 campaign with the Enstone-based outfit.

Following Gasly's extension, Briatore was questioned by the Sky Sports F1 broadcast team on Colapinto's future, given that the 22-year-old is currently on what appears to be a race-by-race contract.

Briatore reveals deadline for Alpine Colapinto decision

Following FP3 at Monza where Colapinto finished P14, Sky F1 presenter Natalie Pinkham asked Briatore whether he knew who Alpine’s second driver would be in the long-term.

"No," Briatore responded before elaborating on his team’s driver decision.

"For the moment, I believe Franco is doing a good job… he was a bit inexperienced in the beginning, like a lot of the rookies, young drivers.

"Now, in the last three, four races, he’s much more consistent, no mistakes and maybe it’s Franco, maybe we see.

"We have another four or five races to choose and that’s when we’ll see."

Briatore was then pushed to give a deadline, with Pinkham asking, "When do you expect a decision, at the end of the season?"

Briatore clarified: "No, before. It is November we need to make a decision."

If the 75-year-old's latest statements are anything to go by, it seems Alpine's Argentine signing will at least see out the rest of the season, with the team's future lineup choice pivotal to their chances at hitting the ground running with the new regulations in 2026.

On a weekend where Colapinto sat out of FP1 to make way for rookie and Alpine reserve driver Paul Aron, the former Williams racer is certainly aware of the pressure he is under to perform.

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