The Canadian Grand Prix is the next stop on the 2025 Formula 1 calendar and will see more drivers than Red Bull star Yuki Tsunoda needing to impress to avoid being axed.
Pressure is mounting in Milton Keynes for Tsunoda to save his seat ahead of next week’s trip to Montreal. The 25-year-old is struggling to convince Red Bull that he should stay next year, having only scored seven points in the seven rounds since he replaced Liam Lawson in April.
Tsunoda is also yet to finish a Grand Prix higher than P9 since the Japanese driver moved up from Racing Bulls. So, Red Bull are expected to release Tsunoda when his contract expires at the end of the 2025 F1 season, with his plight costing them dearly for the constructors’ title.
Red Bull are only fourth in the F1 constructors’ championship ahead of the Canadian GP and trail McLaren by 218 points after just the first nine rounds. Max Verstappen has even earned 137 of their 144 points so far this term. Yet Tsunoda is not the only F1 driver under pressure.
Franco Colapinto is entering a ‘critical phase’ to save his Alpine seat ahead of the Canadian GP
According to reports by Motorsport-Total, the Canadian GP on June 13-15 will also mark the start of a ‘critical phase’ for Franco Colapinto to convince Alpine why he should be kept. The Argentine has so far failed to thrill executive adviser Flavio Briatore over his first three races.
Alpine only confirmed Colapinto on a five-round deal to replace Jack Doohan this May, with Briatore planning another review of the Enstone squad’s driver line-up ahead of the British Grand Prix. Briatore sees the 2025 season as a chance to test Alpine’s options for next year.
READ MORE: Who is Alpine 2025 F1 driver Franco Colapinto? Everything you need to know
It was always expected that Doohan would fall back into his reserve driver role ahead of the season, as Briatore believes Colapinto is the future of F1. But the 22-year-old is not living up to expectations this year, as he lacks the confidence to carry speed into corners in the A525.
The Buenos Aires native must now show over the Canadian GP and the Austrian Grand Prix on June 27-29 why Alpine paid Williams £8.5m to sign Colapinto on a five-year loan deal or risk being dropped like Doohan. His first points this year in either race would go a long way.
Franco Colapinto will know Flavio Briatore expects more or risk being replaced
Colapinto will know he is under pressure going to the Canadian GP, as Briatore also admitted recently that he is ‘not happy at all’ with the Argentine’s form. The Williams driver academy graduate only earned P16 at Imola, P13 in Monaco and P15 in Spain after replacing Doohan.
He started on the wrong foot, as well, as Colapinto crashed in qualifying at Imola and would qualify last for the Monaco Grand Prix. His qualifying efforts in Barcelona were thwarted, as Colapinto developed a driveline issue in qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix and came P19.
Alpine also only saw the Williams loanee finish ahead of the Haas duo of Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman in Barcelona last week. Verstappen found Colapinto’s ignorance of the blue flags in Spain ‘unbelievable’, too, having thwarted his pursuit of McLaren star Lando Norris.
Now, Colapinto must show he can offer Alpine more in the Canadian GP and Austrian GP to potentially save his F1 career. Colapinto knows Briatore could replace him with Paul Aron at Silverstone, and Alpine see Mick Schumacher as a low-risk replacement for the Argentine.
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