Guenther Steiner issues his verdict on whether Franco Colapinto will lose his Alpine seat after his five-race deal

Franco Colapinto is under immediate pressure at Alpine after replacing Jack Doohan at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Alpine were rumoured to make the driver swap throughout 2025 as Flavio Briatore pushed to get Colapinto into the car. After Doohan failed to score points in the opening six races, the Aussie was dropped back to a reserve role.

Now, Colapinto has been afforded a second opportunity in F1, having replaced Logan Sargeant at Williams in the final nine Grand Prix of 2024. However, unlike last year, the Argentine is under pressure as he has been given five races to keep his seat.

Alpine will reassess their driver pool at the British GP, giving the 21-year-old limited time to prove himself. His F1 return at the Emilia Romagna GP did not go to plan as Colapinto crashed in Q1, but still managed to secure a spot in Q2.

The Argentine went backwards in the race as he finished a disappointing weekend in 16th. Given Alpine and Briatore’s nature of dropping drivers, many are wondering if Colapinto will survive past his five-race deal.

Guenther Steiner thinks Franco Colapinto will not lose his Alpine seat after his five-race deal

The Enstone outfit want to keep Colapinto as focused as possible during his spell in the A525. Doohan was kept out of Alpine’s hospitality at Imola to avoid any distractions.

Christijan Albers blasted Alpine for the decision, labelling it as ‘idiocy’. In the end, it did not help to focus Colapinto, with his crash in qualifying and an underwhelming display in the race.

Briatore says Alpine must be patient with Colapinto, which will be a gut punch for Doohan, as he was not afforded the same treatment. Former Haas boss Guenther Steiner thinks the Argentine will stay in his seat beyond his five-race deal.

“He will not be out. Who [would] they put in? I’m not available anymore, so who would Flavio put in?” he said via The Red Flags Podcast.

“I think Alpine needs to calm down everything what is happening, is that, of continuing to make changes, because they don’t seem to be working, the changes.”

READ MORE: Who is Alpine 2025 F1 driver Franco Colapinto? Everything you need to know

Flavio Briatore already knows who he would replace Franco Colapinto with at Alpine

While his weekend at Imola was disappointing, David Coulthard was impressed by Colapinto’s race pace. He was matching teammate Pierre Gasly, who came home 13th, which will be encouraging for the Argentine to take into his next four races.

But the 21-year-old will have to keep that up and improve his qualifying and race position. Alpine are ninth in the standings heading into the Monaco Grand Prix, with Gasly scoring all seven of their points thus far.

The pressure will be intense on the Argentine, with his accident in qualifying not helping his case. Colapinto was highly crash-prone at Williams, racking up millions in damages in 2024.

He cannot afford to put his A525 into the barriers anymore, especially when the team have other drivers waiting in the wings. Colapinto ‘knows’ Briatore will bring in Paul Aron to replace him if he fails to deliver the results.