Jun.30 (GMM) Franco Colapinto is just not the one Alpine driver who might have departed Austria feeling a bit nervous.
Government advisor and de-facto workforce boss Flavio Briatore axed rookie Jack Doohan final month, changing him with the highly-rated and Argentine backed fellow rookie Franco Colapinto.
However the 21-year-old has additionally notably struggled within the cockpit – reviving rumours that Briatore’s axe could also be about to swing once more.
“Not notably,” mentioned the Argentine driver when requested if he’s fearful, simply as rumours linking Alpine and Valtteri Bottas started to emerge.
“I believe Flavio has been very supportive and trusts the choice he has made.”
Nevertheless, 75-year-old Briatore overtly admits he was sad not solely with Colapinto in Austria, but additionally the workforce’s clear number one driver Pierre Gasly.
Auto Motor und Sport quoted Briatore as criticising the Frenchman for his Q3 spin that meant Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri couldn’t cost for pole. The Italian mentioned the error was “Not what you anticipate from a high driver”.
Briatore additionally criticised Colapinto for failing to make the Q3 section in any respect.
“The automobile was fast and will have been nicely inside Q3 with two vehicles,” he mentioned, including that Alpine’s tempo then tends to vanish within the grands prix.
“It will be significant we perceive why that is, particularly if we need to flip this season round from this troublesome place,” mentioned the Italian.
“Finally, we now have misplaced floor to our direct rivals within the Championship after one other race with out scoring factors and, frankly, this degree of efficiency is more and more regarding.”
Briatore mentioned Colapinto was “a great distance from Q3” on Saturday.
“However we have to put ourselves in a extra aggressive place with each vehicles,” he added.
Colapinto acknowledged: “I most likely want one thing extra, however I lack confidence in high-speed corners.”
The brighter information for Alpine is that L’Equipe believes Briatore has discovered a full-time substitute for Oliver Oakes, who all of a sudden and inexplicably left the position of workforce boss not too long ago.
The identification of the seemingly new workforce principal is Steve Nielsen, who is aware of Briatore and Enstone nicely – though his newer postings have been with the FIA and Components 1.
L’Equipe correspondent Frederic Ferret believes Nielsen is prone to be appointed “even earlier than the tip of the summer season, even when the sudden departure of Luca de Meo from Renault has undoubtedly sophisticated the decision-making course of”.
