Franco Colapinto’s weekend in Austria had the feel of a driver doing two jobs at once: hustling an Alpine through a tightening midfield, and quietly making the case that he should still be there when the 2027 grid forms up.
In the paddock, the noise has been familiar. Fernando Alonso’s name never stays parked for long, and the latest whispers have him circling back towards Enstone yet again. Into that backdrop stepped Flavio Briatore — Alpine’s executive advisor in all but title — offering a notably public vote of confidence in Colapinto and even floating a simple “why not” at the idea of keeping a Pierre Gasly–Colapinto line-up for next season, provided the Argentine holds his level.
Colapinto, for his part, didn’t try to play it cool. Asked about Briatore’s remarks, he called them “very good comments” and made it clear he understands what that kind of endorsement can mean inside a team that’s still reassembling itself.
“Flavio has been very supportive with me, and he’s been very harsh at times that he needs to be harsh,” Colapinto said. “I think he has the experience to do that.
“Of course, it’s also in me how I take those moments, and luckily, I did take them very well, and I improved, and I learned from those, so it was very helpful.”
There’s a particular dynamic at play when Briatore is involved. He isn’t subtle, he isn’t patient in the modern PR sense, and he isn’t interested in dressing up hard messages. Colapinto’s take was that the bluntness has actually accelerated his adaptation to Formula 1 life — not just in the car, but in the mental grind around it.
“We all know that Flavio has been in the sport for so many years, and he has been so successful,” Colapinto continued. “When you use all his experience and his comments to do better and to understand where you need to focus more and to be stronger mentally… it becomes helpful, and in the future it’s a bit of your strength.”
Colapinto has, crucially, delivered enough on track to give that narrative some backbone. Alpine’s 2026 has been a genuine step forward compared to where it was a year ago, and Colapinto has chipped in 16 points in the first part of the season. His best day so far was sixth in Canada — the sort of result that doesn’t just pad the tally, it changes the tone of internal conversations.
That matters because the Alonso rumour isn’t just gossip for gossip’s sake; it’s a reminder of how quickly the market can shift when a proven name becomes even hypothetically available. If you’re a young driver, you don’t get to control those storylines. You can only make yourself inconvenient to replace.
Colapinto also leaned into something teams always say they want and rarely find in perfect supply: a driver who absorbs criticism and comes back sharper, rather than brittle. He described Briatore’s approach as “very different” to what he’d previously been used to, but framed the tougher moments as part of why he feels stronger now — including how to handle the media pressure that comes with being judged every weekend.
Those are the kinds of details drivers tend to share when they’re not merely surviving the first half of a season, but starting to feel like they belong.
The more interesting piece, though, was Colapinto’s explanation of what Briatore’s presence does to Alpine as an organisation. He painted a picture of a team being pushed forward by someone who doesn’t allow it to settle into “nice weekend” complacency — even when the result is objectively solid for where the car currently sits.
“We, of course, are not where we want to be, but I think it’s been a successful first part of the year in general,” he said. “We are working hard to improve much more… But his support, off track, on track with the team, not only with me as a driver, but with engineers, with everyone, he pushes the team forward a lot…
“Even when we are doing well, or we are having a good result, we are finishing P6, he’s back in the factory, and he’s the only one not being happy… and wanting more and more and more.”
That’s not just a nice anecdote; it’s a window into Alpine’s current self-image. The team knows the progress is real — moving from last year’s position into a more credible midfield presence — but it also knows how fragile “midfield” is as a destination. In 2026, you either keep climbing or you get swallowed by the next upgrade cycle.
Colapinto even sketched out the ladder he believes Alpine is trying to climb: from where it was, to consistent midfield, to nearer the front next year, and “in a few years fighting for wins.” He’s not naïve about how hard that is, but he clearly sees Briatore’s relentlessness as central to the plan.
“That’s the way that in Formula 1 you go from P10… to this year being in the midfield, and next year a bit closer to the top,” Colapinto said. “I think that’s the only way in F1 nowadays. He knows how to do it, so I fully trust him.”
Whether Alpine ends up tempted by a big-name return or sticks with the pairing it has, Colapinto’s mission is straightforward: keep producing the kind of weekends that make the debate awkward. In Austria, he sounded like a driver who knows the politics are swirling — and intends to outrun them.
