In a dramatic twist behind the scenes at Alpine, Flavio Briatore reportedly pushed the team to replace Franco Colapinto before the 2026 season even began—only for the team to extend his contract instead.
Colapinto, who started the year as Alpine’s reserve driver, stepped into Jack Doohan’s seat after just six races. While the team struggled at the back of the grid, shifting focus to 2026 regulations, teammate Pierre Gasly still managed to score 15 points between rounds seven and 24. It was a tough season for Alpine, but Colapinto showed flashes of promise.
In November, Alpine confirmed Colapinto would stay for another year—despite earlier whispers that Briatore wanted to move on. According to journalist Jorge Peiro, the deal was already in place by the Mexico City Grand Prix, weeks before the official announcement. Peiro later revealed that Briatore was pushing ownership to back young driver Paul Aron instead. In the end, Briatore didn’t get his way.
What tipped the scales? Many believe Colapinto’s strong commercial ties in Latin America played a key role. Alpine even debuted special liveries in Miami and Montreal tied to their partnership with Argentine company Mercado Libre. It’s a reminder that in modern F1, marketability can be just as important as raw pace.
Aron, meanwhile, made three FP1 appearances for Alpine last year—including one in Mexico—and finished third in the 2024 F2 championship behind Gabriel Bortoleto and Isack Hadjar. Impressive, but not enough to sway the decision.
Colapinto had his best F1 outing yet in Miami, making it into the top-10 shootout in qualifying and finishing seventh in the race. That result was helped by a penalty to Charles Leclerc, but it was still a solid, clean drive. Despite an early clash with Lewis Hamilton, Colapinto avoided significant damage and held his position to score valuable points.
After the race, Briatore said he “believed in Franco the whole time,” suggesting the strong result justified his faith. But that statement doesn’t quite line up with Peiro’s account of Briatore pushing for a replacement. Either way, Colapinto will need more weekends like Miami to silence the doubters and secure his long-term future in F1.