F1 chief 'completely messed up' champion driver signing

Flavio Briatore and Christian Horner embrace on the grid — Photo: © IMAGO

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F1 chief 'completely messed up' champion driver signing

An F1 boss has been called out for their driver signings

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Friday 26 September 2025 10:58 Updated: 14:08

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An F1 chief has been criticised for messing up the signing of a champion, in an assessment of the current driver market.

Five rookies were promoted to F1 in 2025, with the likes of Ollie Bearman, Kimi Antonelli, Gabriel Bortoleto and Isack Hadjar all impressing in the F2 championship the previous year.

After 17 rounds however, F1 teams have learnt how much of a gamble it is to rely on rookies or younger drivers, with Alpine especially suffering in this regard.

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Initially, the team promoted rookie Jack Doohan for the start of the 2025 season, however he was then replaced by youngster Franco Colapinto in Imola.

Yet, the Argentine has not improved on Doohan's performances and has suffered a series of costly crashes, while also failing to score a single point.

Alpine reserve driver Paul Aron awaits a full-time F1 opportunity, but 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve believes teams should stop taking a gamble on young drivers from F2.

Should F1 teams look elsewhere in motorsport?

Speaking to OLBG, Villeneuve claimed Alpine executive Flavio Briatore ‘messed up’ previous driver signings, and suggested that F1 teams should start to look at IndyCar drivers.

“Flavio Briatore has always been very brutal! That's how it should be. And he's made a lot of driver calls in the past, some that were amazing and some that were completely messed up. But at least he tried,” Villeneuve said.

“So yes, we don't see that sparkle from any young drivers at the moment. It's very difficult to know what's coming up. And for some reason F1 is not looking at what's happening in the States, like in IndyCar, and which drivers could or could not maybe be a potential F1 driver.

“I think someone like Alex Palou, I still don't understand why he is not in F1? It doesn't make sense. Why would you prefer an F2 driver?”

Spanish racing driver Alex Palou is a four-time IndyCar champion, winning back-to-back titles in the past three years. In 2025, he won eight of 17 races, including the iconic Indianapolis 500, finishing the championship with a 196 point lead over Pato O’Ward.

Rumours circulated in August that Palou was on Red Bull’s radar, although team chief Helmut Marko denied these reports, as did the champion himself.

Currently, Palou has the required number of 40 super licence points to compete in F1, should a team come calling.

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