Alpine Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore has admitted Franco Colapinto must “improve” to retain his Formula 1 seat amid reports that Valtteri Bottas is being considered.
The Argentinian has flattered to deceive since replacing Jack Doohan six rounds into the season, failing to finish higher than 13th in the five Grands Prix he has contested.
Doohan was effectively ousted due to his inability to rival Pierre Gasly, who has scored 11 points in 2025, but Colapinto has provided little improvement in the second seat.
There has been much confusion as to how many races Colapinto would be afforded, with an original plan of five seemingly being increased, despite his disappointing results.
But Briatore, who sprung Colapinto from his Williams contract, delivered a brutal verdict during the Austrian Grand Prix, in which Gasly made it into the final part of qualifying.
“Clearly the car was good enough for Q3, but we are still lacking having two cars up where they should be,” Briatore said.
“Franco was through Q1 but too far away to reach Q3, which we need to improve if we are to put ourselves in a more competitive position with both cars.”
Colapinto on the precipice as Bottas targeted
The race in Spielberg was another torrid race for Colapinto, who received a five-second penalty when he put Oscar Piastri onto the grass as the McLaren lapped him.
“The car is a bit difficult for me to drive at the moment,” Colapinto, who is now the sole current driver without a point, explained to media including Motorsport Week.
“It’s not very consistent. It’s fast, but it just didn’t give me the confidence I needed to push in the high-speed areas.
“It was a tough weekend. I think overall we made some progress, but it just felt like something wasn’t quite right.”
The continuation of Colapinto’s woes comes as reports have now emerged that the team is considering a move to sign Bottas, who is also an alleged target for Cadillac.
The Finn, seeking a return to F1, is back at Mercedes as a reserve driver, and the German marque’s forthcoming power unit deal with Alpine could help him land the drive.
READ MORE – Franco Colapinto poised to retain Alpine drive past F1 Austrian GP
