Franco Colapinto has been warned that his Alpine F1 future is “not protected”, with Flavio Briatore described as a “bomb that may explode at any minute”.
Colapinto’s future at Alpine isn’t safe after an underwhelming return to F1.
The Argentine was drafted in as a alternative for Jack Doohan following the Miami Grand Prix.
Colapinto has struggled since returning to the grid, whereas luck hasn’t been fully on his facet.
His run of poor performances has resulted in Briatore exploring options.
It’s been extensively reported that Briatore held talks with Mercedes over probably signing Valtteri Bottas for the rest of the season.
Riccardo Patrese, who labored beneath Briatore at Benetton in 1993, in contrast his former boss to a World Conflict II bomb.
“Something can occur with Briatore,” Patrese advised On-line Slots. “From my viewpoint, Briatore is sort of a bomb that may explode at any minute; a Second World Conflict bomb that you simply uncover in some locations world wide which fits off.
“With Colapinto not performing and making accidents, he can have an issue with Briatore who received’t assist with a driver’s morale. So Colapinto on this second isn’t protected.”
Will Alpine flip to Bottas?
Alpine might flip to Bottas for the rest of the 2025 F1 season.
Colapinto is about to drive on the subsequent two races in Belgium and Hungary earlier than the summer time break.
Since failing to land the Sauber drive for this yr, Bottas has spent the season as Mercedes’ check and reserve driver.
The Finn has attended nearly all of the races this season, performing as a key tutor to Kimi Antonelli in his debut yr.
Bottas has stored sharp on-track, testing for Mercedes and McLaren all year long.
Not too long ago, he acquired to drive Mercedes’ 2025 challenger on the Circuit Paul Ricard, which hosted the French GP between 2018 and 2022.
Pierre Gasly, who has scored all of Alpine’s factors in 2025, dismissed hypothesis about Bottas as simply “noise”.
Gasly mentioned: “I don’t suppose that’s the case. I believe it’s a number of noise. I believe the automobile, I’m exhibiting each weekend what we will do with it, doing an excellent job on Saturdays and placing it in locations that on paper all of us agree we should always not likely be.
“It’s simply difficult, it’s a really tight midfield and we’re behind it. There’ll all the time be noise, particularly contemplating what occurred earlier within the yr, however I believe on the finish of the day we should always simply concentrate on the work forward.
“It’s going to be a protracted season. We don’t have upgrades, the automobile isn’t in the most effective place, however all of us must concentrate on what we’ve acquired to do and try to do it one of the best ways that we will.”
