Alpine Managing Director Steve Nielsen has laid down the criteria Franco Colapinto needs to fulfil to secure his Formula 1 future.
Colapinto came into Alpine, as a replacement for Jack Doohan, only three rounds into the 2025 campaign, after an impressive nine-race cameo for Williams, at the end of 2024.
That said, while the Argentinian had impressed the paddock with his performances in the FW46, Alpine’s A525 was a crude reminder of the ground realities of F1, for the 23-year-old.
The Enstone-based team endured a difficult end to the ground effects era, with a deficient package, which Colapinto had a tough time to adapt to.
But despite a lacklustre 2025, he was signed up for this season by the team.
“Well, everybody wants more,” Nielsen said addressing Colapinto’s future at the team for 2027.
“I think Franco is a driver that has been a slow starter, dare I say it. He’s getting better. He’s produced some good runs this year already. Miami was good. China was good. He’s improving.
“So I think he’s there on merit and when the time comes, we’ll make the decisions.”
Nine rounds into 2026, Colapinto has already produced five points scoring finishes, accumulating 18 points for Alpine.
These included a stellar seventh and sixth placed finishes at Miami and Canada, respectively. At Silverstone, last weekend, he put in a solid recovery drive from P19 to take the chequered flag in ninth.
Yet, Nielsen has warned Colapinto to not rest on his laurels, as he still has much to prove before Alpine commits to his future beyond 2026.
“If he’s good enough, he’ll stay, and if he’s not, then there’s a better option,” he added.
“That’s just Formula 1.”
What Franco Colapinto needs to do to secure Alpine F1 future
One of the biggest areas of concern for Alpine, last season, was Colapinto’s inability to extract the maximum from whatever pace its car had to offer.
This was often on display compared to his team-mate Pierre Gasly.
This season, however, Nielsen has highlighted how the 23-year-old has more often than not been a match, and sometimes, even exceeded the Frenchman, on track.
More of the same, and Colapinto could find himself with a seat with Alpine heading into next season.
“I think his consistency, particularly in races, is a lot better than it was and his ability to hang on to Pierre,” Nielsen explained.
“He did a little bit of that last year but our car last year was so bad it was difficult to separate wheat from the chaff.
“But I think this year there’s been a few times where he’s been a match for Pierre and that’s good to see.”
Naturally, Colapinto would want to build on this British GP exploits to make it back-to-back top 10 finishes at the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit, in two weeks’ time.
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