Franco Colapinto: Alpine boss Flavio Briatore remains non-committal over Argentine driver's future with team
Alpine executive director Flavio Briatore refused to offer any assurances over Franco Colapinto's immediate future with the team; watch every session of the Canadian GP weekend from Friday live on Sky Sports F1
Monday 9 June 2025 17:56, UK
Franco Colapinto is under pressure to improve his performances after Alpine chief Flavio Briatore remained non-committal over the Argentine driver's future with the team.
Colapinto replaced Jack Doohan ahead of F1's latest triple-header but has displayed no signs of the impressive form he showed when competing for Williams in the last nine races of 2024.
The 22-year-old crashed in his first qualifying outing for Alpine in Imola, then qualified 20th and 19th in Monaco and Spain, although he had an issue at the end of Q1 in Barcelona.
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When announcing Colapinto's promotion from reserve driver, Alpine took the unusual step of saying the Argentine would drive in the next five races, which leaves just this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix and the Austrian Grand Prix at the end of June.
Briatore told Sky Italy at Imola that there was "no set limit" for Colapinto, but speaking two weeks' later at the Spanish Grand Prix, appeared to apply more pressure to his driver.
"I never tell [say] five races, three races, four races, one race. If Colapinto is performing, he's driving the car. If not, we will see," said the Alpine executive advisor.
"2025 is a year we need to prepare ourselves for 2026. So whatever experiment I need doing, we are doing.
"I don't know at this moment if Franco will stay for the season or not, but let's see. Depends on the performance. We're only looking at the performance - nothing else."
Alpine have the option of bringing Doohan back as Pierre Gasly's team-mate from the British Grand Prix in July, or reserve driver Paul Aron.
Briatore has previously stated Colapinto "needs to be fast, not crash and score points" but he's also keen to not judge him too quickly.
He told Sky Sports F1 in Barcelona: "Franco is a very young driver. Last year he did very well in Williams. He's not relaxed at the moment. He needs more mileage.
"Franco, I'm sure, is a good driver. He's very young. Give him some time. At the moment, we give the seat to him."
Briatore: Driver salary should be part of F1 cost cap
In his first team principals' press conference appearance since returning to the sport, Briatore also shared a potentially contentious opinion as he called for drivers' salaries to be made part of F1's budget cap.
F1 introduced a budget cap in 2021 in a bid to support a financially-sustainable sport, give more teams a chance of success and deliver a more competitive competition.
The cost cap was set at $145m (£114m) for 2021, $140m (£110m) for 2022 and $135m (£106m) for 2023-2025. The cap will rise to $215m (£170m) for 2026 to accommodate the new technical regulations.
However, the driver's salary, plus the salaries of a team's three highest earners, are excluded.
Briatore brought up the topic when asked how different F1 is compared to 20 years ago, given there is a budget limit.
"The cost cap is good. This was a very good idea to have the cost cap for the teams. I believe it should stay," he said.
"I also believe the salary of the driver should be part of that - not only what we have now. We need to increase it. What I see the difference between my time in Renault [before 2010] and now, the cost really has gone up dramatically.
"The races are the same. What you see on television is the same. The fighting between the drivers is the same. The best driver is winning the race.
"What we now see is the cost. The cost has increased dramatically. It's not because the cost increased that the business is better or the show is better. It's the same.
"The race, for me, is the same. It's very competitive. We have great drivers. But the costs go up dramatically. The cost budget cap was a very good idea. I believe we should increase the budget including the salaries of the driver."
Sky Sports F1's Canadian GP schedule
Thursday June 12
8pm: Drivers' Press Conference
Friday June 13
4pm: F1 Academy Practice One
6pm: Canadian GP Practice One (session starts at 6.30pm)
8pm: The F1 Show
9pm: Team Principals' Press Conference
9.30pm: Canadian GP Practice Two (session starts at 10pm)
11.25pm: F1 Academy Qualifying
Saturday June 14
2.10pm: F1 Academy Race One
5.15pm: Canadian GP Practice Three (session starts at 5.30pm)
7.30pm: F1 Academy Race Two
8.30pm: Canadian GP Qualifying build-up
9pm: CANADIAN GP QUALIFYING
11pm: Ted's Qualifying Notebook
Sunday June 15
3.50pm: F1 Academy Race Three
5.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Canadian GP build-up
7pm: THE CANADIAN GRAND PRIX
9pm: Chequered Flag: Canadian GP reaction
10pm: Ted's Notebook
The 2025 Formula 1 season paused for breath after the European triple-header but resumes live on Sky Sports F1 with the Canadian Grand Prix from June 13-15. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime.
