Briatore reveals why Colapinto stays with Alpine for 2026 F1 season | OneFootball

A couple of weeks ago, Flavio Briatore was very critical of Franco Colapinto's performance. However, the main advisor at Alpine seems to have changed his view and stance on the Argentine driver after his performances in Zandvoort and Monza, and this Wednesday hinted that his continuity in Formula 1 for 2026 is practically assured.

In a conversation with AFP, the French news agency, Briatore acknowledged the need to maintain the duo of Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto as their drivers for the next season: “The team needs stability, and the possibility of keeping the same two drivers is part of that stability,” he expressed.

“At the moment, we have not yet made a decision,” the Italian noted, although his words indicate otherwise: “Normally ‘stability’ means we will keep both. The most important thing is to make a car that performs.” Briatore highlighted in Monza that they would still take two or three more races before deciding on Colapinto or the possibility of looking for another driver.

In 2026, the pressure will be greater. Flavio Briatore is a man accustomed to being at the top and succeeding, as he did with Schumacher or Alonso, so the last place position in the constructors' championship that Alpine has in 2025 is not something he likes to see. In fact, he set the bar extremely high for 2026, assuring that with the Mercedes engine, they have to compete at the forefront.

“In 2026 we will have an engine like the others,” he stated on the matter. “We will no longer have excuses, the team has everything to succeed,” he added. “We can achieve podiums next year. We have the potential to be in the Top 6, and even in the Top 4 if everything goes well. I have not returned to be a tourist.”

However, the ordeal will continue this season: “Alpine does not have the capacity to develop the 2025 car and, at the same time, create the new car for 2026,” the Italian acknowledged, implying that in the remaining eight Grand Prix races, he does not expect great results.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.