Franco Colapinto has struggled since he replaced Jack Doohan at Alpine three races ago. His seat could be at risk if he doesn’t improve.
Colapinto has been eliminated in Q1 in every event so far. Pierre Gasly was six places further up the grid at Imola, and 10 in Barcelona.
He hasn’t come particularly close to scoring a point either, with an average finishing position of 14.6. It’s hard to argue he’s been a meaningful upgrade on Doohan.
That may be acceptable for Flavio Briatore given that Colapinto brings a huge sponsorship package. There is, on that basis, greater upside with the revised line-up.
| CATEGORY | COL | DOO |
| Average grid | 17.3 | 15.5 |
| Average race | 14.6 | 14.8 |
| Average gap to GAS (Q) | 0.652s | 0.433s |
Colapinto was initially announced on a five-race deal after Doohan lasted just six. That would give him just two more weekends to convince sceptics.
Briatore has denied that the Argentine is on such a short-term contract. But he’s also been assessing the driver market in the background.
F1 fans suspect Alpine are readying Paul Aron to replace Franco Colapinto
Footage has now emerged on social media showing another of Alpine’s reserve drivers, Paul Aron, testing at Monza. Doohan and F2 driver Kush Maini are also part of the roster.
Alpine haven’t posted about the test themselves, but Aron confirmed on social media that he’s been in Italy. The TPC run in the A523 may have been routine and pre-planned.
But inevitably, F1 fans are speculating in light of Colapinto’s difficulties. On X, one wrote ‘welcome to F1, Paul Aron’, and another said ‘it looks like they are readying [driver] number three to take the reins’.
A fellow user predicted a ‘driver swap in two races’, when Colapinto will be out of contract if Alpine’s initial press release is to be believed. Aron’s promotion was described as ‘more and more likely’.
Meanwhile, a fan on Reddit said he was testing ‘just in case he’s in the car by Monza’.
“The next five race project has arrived,” another quipped.
How Franco Colapinto and Paul Aron compared in private Alpine test
Under the regulations, Alpine are only allowed to field four drivers in a season, and they’ve already used three. Briatore may wish to evaluate Aron before he settles on Gasly’s 2026 teammate.
Alpine have also been in talks with Sergio Perez, who also brings lucrative backing and is far more experienced than Colapinto. It’s worth noting that the latter is on a long-term loan from Williams.
This week, Valtteri Bottas said his management had held talks with Alpine too. There are, it would seem, an array of contenders.
Colapinto was said to be considerably quicker than Aron when the two went head-to-head in a test earlier this year. The Estonian had the edge in F2 last year and ultimately finished third in the standings.
Some Alpine insiders saw Aron as the best Doohan replacement. He joined the Enstone outfit after parting with Mercedes.
