F1 star at risk of being axed after Austrian Grand Prix this weekend

An F1 driver could be set to lose his race seat as soon at next week, with a make-or-break Austrian Grand Prix fast approaching.

Franco Colapinto garnered a lot of attention in his late-season spell replacing Logan Sargeant at Williams last year, but has been disappointing in relief of the underperforming Jack Doohan at Alpine this year.

A statement released by team announcing the driver swap read: "As part of an ongoing assessment of its driver line-up, the team has made the decision to rotate one of its race seats for the next five rounds of the 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship.

"BWT Alpine Formula One Team therefore announces that Franco Colapinto will be paired with Pierre Gasly from the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, ahead of a new evaluation before the British Grand Prix in July."

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Colapinto facing Alpine axe

The race at Silverstone is next on the calendar after this Sunday's event at the Red Bull Ring, meaning this may be Colapinto's final opportunity to impress having finished no higher than 13th in his four outings to date.

There remains some confusion about the 22-year-old's contract, however, with Alpine advisor Flavio Briatore last month issuing a bizarre U-turn on the five-race deadline which was initially confirmed by the team.

The Silverstone GP will mark Colapinto's one-year anniversary in F1 having made his race debut at the iconic track for Williams in 2024.

Just like this season, he was drafted in midway through the campaign to replace an underperforming driver - Sargeant - and caught the eye of several team bosses with early on, with a surprise eighth-place finish in Azerbaijan on his second outing a clear indicator of his talent.

His form did tail off towards the end of the year however, failing to finish three of the last four grands prix, but was signed by Alpine as a reserve driver after opting to leave Williams following the arrival of Carlos Sainz.

He can ill-afford to find himself once again relegated to side lines going into the second half of the 2025 season, a prospect which could become reality should he struggle again this weekend.

And with so few drivers getting a third chance to show what they can do in the top tier of world motorsport, Colapinto is fast running out of time to make his case.

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