Flavio Briatore has already sent a ruthless ‘message’ to Franco Colapinto’s sponsors before Alpine debut

Franco Colapinto will make his debut for Alpine at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix this weekend. It was announced last week that he would replace Jack Doohan with immediate effect.

Colapinto joined the team as a reserve driver over the winter after a nine-race stint at Williams in 2024. The pre-arranged signing of Carlos Sainz meant there was no room for him at Grove.

At the start of the season, the noise around Colapinto taking Doohan’s seat was overwhelming. It had just started to go quiet when Flavio Briatore, now the Alpine team principal after Oliver Oakes’ exit, abruptly demoted the Australian.

Colapinto has already driven the 2023 Alpine car in TPC outings at Monza and Zandvoort. He’s also been logging simulator mileage as part of his support role.

Alpine sprung a surprise when they stated that the Argentine would be stepping up ‘for the next five races’. They intend to re-evaluate the situation before the British GP in July.

Colapinto scored points in two of his first four races for Williams after replacing Logan Sargeant. However, he also suffered a series of heavy crashes at the end of the year, considerably harming his reputation.

Flavio Briatore happy to keep Franco Colapinto – as long as sponsor payments are good enough

A report from AutoRacer has now revealed the real reason for Colapinto’s conspicuously short deal. It sounded ominous for the 21-year-old given that Doohan was reportedly on a similar contract.

Alpine haven’t definitely ruled out a return for the scoreless driver before the end of the season. More to the point, fellow reserve driver Paul Aron is a strong alternative after finishing third in last year’s F2 standings (though Oakes’ departure may have hurt him given their close relationship).

But Briatore doesn’t intend to make another change. Even the Italian, with his history of ruthless driver calls, knows that the teams need stability now.

As it turns out, he’s trying to send a ‘message’ to Colapinto’s sponsors with the five-race timeframe. ‘If the results are good and the money paid to Alpine is good’, then he will not be ‘at risk’.

What Jack Doohan’s father privately said in F1 paddock before Alpine axe

As of last year, Colapinto offers £25m in commercial backing. His team have already looked to take full advantage.

Alpine have been negotiating with Colapinto’s sponsors this year and signed a deal with Mercado Libre in February. Talks haven’t been entirely straightforward, which may explain why Briatore has offered a subtle but powerful incentive.

In addition to the windfall from South American businesses, Alpine expect a merchandising ‘boom’. Williams already reaped the benefits last season.

Speaking to Juan-Pablo Montoya in the Miami GP paddock, Jack Doohan’s father accused the press of trying to drive him out. But it seems that Briatore had his own motives for swapping drivers so soon.