F1 boss performs driver U-Turn after mid-season axe threat

Colapinto and Piastri facing each other in conversation on the FIA press conference couch — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

F1 boss performs driver U-Turn after mid-season axe threat

A big change for an F1 boss

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Friday 29 May 2026 14:55

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Franco Colapinto's turnaround in performance has led to a complete change in perspective from Alpine F1 boss Flavio Briatore.

During the 2025 season, it looked as if Colapinto didn't have a future at all in Formula 1 after numerous crashes, while he also ended the championship as the only active driver without a single point.

While Alpine were undoubtedly the worst team last season, Pierre Gasly still managed to score all 22 of the team's points across the campaign, highlighting just how much Colapinto struggled in his first full rookie season.

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At one stage, speaking to the media ahead of the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix, Briatore even suggested that Colapinto could be axed mid-season, where he said: "I don’t know, honestly. I never tell five races, three races, four races, one race. We see. If Colapinto is performing he’s driving the car."

"If not, we’ll see. 2025 is a year we need to prepare ourselves for 2026. So whatever experiment I need doing, we’re doing.

"I don’t know at this moment if Franco will stay for the season or not, but let’s see. Depends on the performance. We’re only looking at the performance — nothing else."

Briatore: Colapinto could become a top driver

Now, Briatore's opinion on Colapinto has performed a complete U-Turn, as the picture at Alpine has very much shifted.

The Argentine driver has secured three points finishes in 2026, alongside back-to-back top 10 results with a seventh place in Miami and a sixth place in Canada. Colapinto sits five points behind team-mate Gasly in the drivers' standings, and their combined efforts have helped lift Alpine to P5 in the constructors' championship.

Perhaps most importantly of all, however, is how impressed Briatore is with Colapinto and said, as per The Race's Jonathan Noble: "Franco, honestly, I believe he has the talent to be one of the top drivers.

“In Canada he's done a super job. On Friday he did not do FP1 because he had a problem with the battery.

“Then he jumped in the car, qualified and got in the top ten. Stuff like this is not usual, not for a driver doing stuff like that."

F1 Alpine Franco Colapinto Flavio Briatore