It’s hard to look past Franco Colapinto as the driver under the most pressure on the Formula 1 grid right now.
Alpine handed Franco Colapinto his debut for the team at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix but with one distinct caveat.
The initial announcement that confirmed he would take Jack Doohan’s seat after just six race weekends in 2025 suggested he was on an initial five-race deal.
| Position | Constructors’ Standings | Points |
| 1 |
McLaren Racing |
279 |
| 2 |
Mercedes-AMG Petronas |
147 |
| 3 |
Red Bull Racing |
131 |
| 4 |
Scuderia Ferrari |
114 |
| 5 |
Williams F1 Team |
51 |
| 6 |
Haas F1 Team |
20 |
| 7 |
Aston Martin F1 Team |
14 |
| 8 |
Racing Bulls |
10 |
| 9 |
Alpine F1 Team |
7 |
| 10 |
Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber |
6 |
Alpine chief Flavio Briatore has since dismissed that claim about Colapinto’s future, but the mixed messaging coming out of the Anglo-French outfit is simply expected at this point.
Oliver Oakes walking away as team principal of Alpine for personal reasons has only created an added layer of complication to the issue, with Dave Greenwood taking over his role in the paddock.
However, Flavio Briatore is the main decision maker within the team and ultimately believed that Colapinto was the right man for the job alongside Pierre Gasly for the upcoming section of the Formula 1 calendar.
READ MORE: Who is Alpine 2025 F1 driver Franco Colapinto? Everything you need to know
Otmar Szafnauer tells Alpine what they got wrong when making Jack Doohan and Franco Colapinto swap
Former Alpine boss Otmar Szafnauer was speaking on the Team Principal Podcast about the latest driver swap on the Formula 1 grid.
Colapinto had a tricky weekend, never looking quite as quick as Gasly in practice before crashing at the end of Q1 despite setting a fast enough time to progress.
He also made a mistake in the pit lane that earned him a one-place grid penalty and eventually came home in 16th.
Szafnauer was asked about the decision to swap both drivers and explained: “I’ve had experience with Jack and he’s, for sure, a competent driver.
“He wasn’t far off the racing drivers when we ran him in a two-year-old car.
“It’s difficult these days to jump in a Formula 1 car and get it all right, right away.
“You could see some of the other rookies also struggle at the beginning.
“I personally would have given Jack a little bit more time. I think some of his difficulties, the team were partly responsible for his difficulties, sitting him out in Japan, for example, I think was really hard on Jack.
“And also if you’re not used to starting mid-pack or maybe towards the back of a Formula 1 grid, it’s really hard, especially from a standing start.
“Everyone wants to jump everybody else at the start and lo and behold, old cars come together.
“So I would have been a bit more sympathetic, but I’m not there now and others are making that decision.”
READ MORE: Who is Alpine reserve driver Jack Doohan? All to know from girlfriend to dad
What Franco Colapinto got right at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on his Alpine debut
Briatore told his drivers that they needed to do three things to succeed at Alpine.
He said to Sky Italia that Colapinto, “Needs to be fast, not crash and score points. I’m only asking him these three things, not 10.”
Unfortunately, it’s hard to argue that the 21-year-old completed any of those tasks on his debut.
However, David Coulthard was impressed with Colapinto’s race pace at the start of the Grand Prix.
Not only that, it was already evident in the crowd how big an Argentine following Colapinto has at races, and that will generate more income for Alpine in merchandise and sponsorship revenue.
Whether that’s enough to justify dropping Doohan and to keep him in the seat long-term is another question.
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