F1 team weighing up driver swap decision

Franco Colapinto, Alpine, Chinese GP, 2026 — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 Silly Season

F1 team weighing up driver swap decision

In the balance...

Chris Deeley

Tuesday 14 July 2026 09:43

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Here's an unexpected addition to F1's 2026 silly season: Franco Colapinto's future at Alpine is far from secure.

The popular youngster joined the French team early last season after Jack Doohan was unceremoniously dropped, but failed to score a single point in the 18 races he was at the team for.

This year has been better for him – as it has been for the team as a whole, who struggled in 2025 – with 18 points already on the board, but that's still only good enough for 13th in the championship.

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By contrast, his team-mate Pierre Gasly has more than double that points tally (42), sitting ninth in the standings, with a 9-4 head-to-head record over his young team-mate in sprint and grand prix qualifying, usually a good indicator of outright pace.

Alpine boss: Colapinto will stay...if he's good enough

Alpine managing director Steve Nielsen has admitted at the British Grand Prix that Colapinto's future with the team – his contract expires at the end of the year – is still dependent on the rest of his season.

Well," he said in a Friday press conference, "everybody wants more. I think Franco is a driver that has been a slow starter, dare I say it. He's getting better. He's produced some good runs this year already. Miami was good. China was good. He's improving.

"So I think he's there on merit and when the time comes, we'll make the decisions. If he's good enough, he'll stay, and if he's not, then there's a better option. That's just Formula 1."

One of the drivers linked with Colapinto's potentially vacated seat, astonishingly, has been Fernando Alonso, who has a long history with the team in both its Renault and Alpine guises, and whose manager Flavio Briatore is the team's de facto team principal.

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F1 Alpine Franco Colapinto Steve Nielsen