Franco Colapinto has switched to a different shade of blue for 2025 as he moves from Williams to Alpine.
The Argentine will serve as the Enstone-based team’s test and reserve driver. Alpine -led by Oliver Oakes – will run with Pierre Gasly and Jack Doohan for the opening race of the season.
Colapinto put himself in the shop window in F1 after his impressive performances with Williams in 2024. Despite having multiple costly crashes in his nine-race stint, the 21-year-old bagged five points – four more than Logan Sargeant managed in 36 races with the Grove-based team.
Williams did not have a seat for Colapinto until at least 2027 after signing Carlos Sainz and extending Alex Albon’s deal. This prompted the Argentine to look elsewhere, with several teams expressing an interest.
Alpine got a deal done and announced the 21-year-old’s arrival on Thursday alongside Ryo Hirakawa. Alpine have promised Williams they will take care of Colapinto as he embarks on his new adventure in the paddock.
Before Flavio Briatore emerged as an admirer, Red Bull had been keen on Colapinto after his early performances with Williams. The Milton Keynes-based outfit had him as an option to replace Sergio Perez.
Red Bull would have gone over the cost cap had they signed Franco Colapinto
After his three big accidents in Sao Paulo and Las Vegas, Red Bull pulled out of their interest in Colapinto – but according to journalist Felipe McGough, they would not have been able to sign him anyway.
Perez was released from his contract at the end of 2024, having signed a two-year extension earlier in the year. Naturally, Red Bull would have had to pay a substantial fee to axe the Mexican early.
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Likewise, Colapinto would not have been cheap. Red Bull were willing to offer £15.4m to Williams to bring him on board, which McGough says would have seen them go over the cost cap.
Discussing Colapinto’s to Alpine on the Carburando YouTube channel, he said: “James [Vowles] wanted to keep Franco. Obviously they had their eye on him and they had him in from the Williams academy and they were accompanying him.
“And as I always said, it was the biggest sponsor that Franco had in Formula 2 until reaching the Formula 1 process. It was the Willliams team, so they had faith in him.
“The moment Franco exploded within Formula 1, [it] literally opened the eyes of a lot of people other than the Williams team and a lot of negotiations took place where James was very adamant that he didn’t want to release him unless it was for a payment.
“I think the complication for Red Bull was simply economic. Red Bull lost a number of millions of dollars falling from first to third in the Constructors’ Championship.
“They had to remove Checo Perez and pay him the full contract. There was no way to negotiate that issue. They could not continue spending money because if not, the numbers with the cap that exists was going to go somewhere else.”
Franco Colapinto is eyeing a 2025 seat with Alpine
A significant reason for Colapinto switching to Alpine is they have a seat available for 2026 when the new technical regulations come into effect.
But the Argentine will also be looking for an opportunity in 2025 if Doohan fails to deliver with the team. The Aussie is already under incredible pressure to keep his seat, despite having only made one appearance in F1 (the 2024 season finale in Abu Dhabi).
Doohan’s contract is said to be only for six races, giving him limited time to prove he is worthy of staying in F1. Nevertheless, Alpine have insisted Doohan is their man as they plan to start him and Gasly at the 2025 season opener in Australia.
Doohan has the races in Melbourne, China, Japan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Miami to save his seat. With Colapinto, Hirakawa and Paul Aron in the background, it would make a strong start to the season all the more impressive.
Colapinto has a substantial following in Argentina and more race experience than Doohan. While the latter deserves a chance in F1, it is hard to imagine Alpine wanting to keep the former on the sidelines for too long.
