Flavio Briatore has been one of the biggest supporters of Franco Colapinto to get behind the wheel of the Alpine, snatching the seat from Doohan, who was well below expectations. But just three races after his debut with the French team, the results have not been as expected, and Briatore has already questioned his future, stating that “I’m not happy at all.”
Colapinto disappoints on his return
Many were looking forward to seeing Franco Colapinto on the main grid of F1. Last year, with only half a season in a Williams that was well below its current performance, he achieved great results in what was his debut in the top category of F1. When he lost his seat to Carlos Sainz, who had already been signed before his debut, Briatore did not hesitate to sign him as a reserve driver, and if it had been up to him, he would have put the Argentine in one of the two Alpine cars from the start. The change was only a matter of time, and so it was at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, where he finally got back behind the wheel for a Grand Prix. There have been three races to date, and his pace and multiple accidents have caused the first major wake-up call for those who have been his biggest supporters until now.
Briatore warns Colapinto
Flavio Briatore can go from love to hate in a very short time. It is the harshest reflection of what F1 is, a sport where performance has to be proven from day one, otherwise you’re out. He has no problem rectifying and contradicting himself; he only understands performance, and that takes everything: words, promises, contracts, and whatever else is necessary. And Franco Colapinto has had to experience the Italian’s wrath firsthand after a performance that fell short of expectations.
“If I said now that I’m happy, I’d be lying. I’m not happy at all. Now we have to see how the season unfolds for him.”
Flavio Briatore knows that Colapinto is under a lot of pressure. F1 isn’t easy, but when you arrive in the middle of the season, replacing someone else, still a rookie, and needing to get results (something he didn’t have at Williams last year), that pressure can become a huge burden.
“Franco is very young and under a lot of pressure from all sides, not just from Argentina,” but “in this job, he has to be able to regain confidence as quickly as possible. So I hope he does that quickly and gets going.”
And Briatore is only asking him to do three things: “be fast, don’t crash, and finish in the points,” no more, no less.
Colapinto’s future
But Briatore has not stopped there, and has continued to send messages to the young Argentine driver, warning him that his future is more than up in the air, but that it is in his hands to turn the situation around.
“If Colapinto performs, he drives the car. If not, we’ll see. 2025 is a year in which we have to prepare for 2026.
So any experiments we need to do, we’re doing.“ ”I don’t know at this point if Franco will stay for the season or not, but we’ll see. It depends on performance. We only look at performance, nothing else.” Franco Colapinto is in the spotlight. He has been from the very beginning, but now the pressure is starting to weigh on his shoulders.
Briatore is very direct, and there are two things that are clear: one, he means what he says, and two, this is his way of demanding that the driver perform and that he won’t stand up for him. In this sport, you have to know how to handle the pressure, and you have to be prepared for all kinds of scenarios, because you never know when an opportunity will arise, and you have to know how to take advantage of it.