Flavio Briatore has praised Franco Colapinto for his progress since joining Alpine and confirmed that the team will explore the option of extending his contract if he continues performing at a high level.
Colapinto made his debut as a full-time driver for the Enstone outfit at last year’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, where he initially replaced the demoted Jack Doohan for five rounds before Alpine later decided that he would retain his seat on a race-by-race basis.
After ending the season with zero points, the 23-year-old has improved significantly, achieving his best career result of P6 at the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix and out-qualifying team mate Pierre Gasly on a number of occasions.
Reflecting on Colapinto’s growth, Briatore told the latest episode of Beyond The Grid: “Franco is integrating much better in the team. He’s improving a lot – mentally, technically, relationship with the team. We’re working very hard with him.
“He’s moving to Monaco. I see him a lot in Monaco. We’re talking a lot with him. This young driver [arrived] in Formula 1 with a lot of pressure and to settle mentally is not easy. We need to help him.
“We’ve done a lot of work with Franco and now, little by little, the confidence [has arrived]. I don’t know our level of talent we [will arrive at] with him. But sure enough, a talent. This is 100 per cent.”
Alpine have established themselves as the ‘best of the rest’ so far this season, topping the midfield after seven rounds with 57 points, of which Colapinto has contributed 16 with top-10 finishes in China, Miami, Canada and Barcelona-Catalunya.
But with the summer break approaching, shifts in the driver market could start to pick up, prompting Briatore to consider what he wants his line-up to look like for the 2027 season.
The Executive Advisor said: “If Franco is performing like he’s performing now and the relationship between Franco and Pierre is like now, it’s the same we have with [Fernando] Alonso at the time, with [Giancarlo] Fisichella, with [Jarno] Trulli, super relationship. Why not?
“I know Franco very well now. We know Pierre very well. We are in the moment to technically build up the team, consistency. Maybe. We have plenty of races to go just to the end of August and before the summer break, we decide.”
To hear more of Briatore’s thoughts on this week’s episode, simply hit go on the audio player above or click here to listen via your preferred podcasting platform.
You can also check out a huge selection of previous episodes – spanning every decade of F1 – in our dedicated Beyond The Grid library here.
