Briatore casts doubt on Colapinto's future at Alpine with a blunt statement

Franco Colapinto is experiencing a period of heightened confidence in his Formula 1 career, demonstrating his talent behind the wheel of an Alpine car. His recent performances have largely concluded within the points-paying positions, signaling a significant leap in his performance for the Enstone-based team following chassis and engine regulation changes.

Despite this encouraging present, a question mark has been cast over the Argentine driver's future with the team for 2027. Executive advisor Flavio Briatore recently commented on Colapinto's prospects, leaving his long-term position with Alpine open to speculation.

Colapinto faced challenges last season due to the underdevelopment of the Alpine car, enduring harsh criticism from Briatore amidst a scarcity of results. However, with a vastly different reality in 2026, having secured points in three of the last four Grands Prix, the driver from Pilar has previously discussed his dynamic with the Italian advisor.

"Flavio supports me a lot and has been very tough on me at times, but he needs to be tough and I think he has the experience for it," Colapinto shared with the media during his time in Austria. "Of course, it also depends on me how I take those moments, and luckily, I took them very well, improved and learned from them, so they were of great help."

He further elaborated on Briatore's influence: "We all know that Flavio has been in this sport for many, many years and has had so much success that when you use all his experience and his comments to improve and to understand where you need to focus more, where you need to be mentally stronger and things like that, it ends up being very useful and, in the future, it becomes one of your strengths."

The 2026 Formula 1 season is currently in its traditional European summer break following the Hungarian Grand Prix. The teams and drivers will regroup to pursue their season objectives in the second half of the championship. The season has seen 11 of the 13 scheduled races completed, with the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix initially canceled due to conflict in the Middle East. However, the Bahrain GP has been rescheduled for October 2-4 in Sepang, Malaysia, leaving the status of the Saudi Arabian GP yet to be determined.