15/08/2025 17:30
Franco Colapinto has been dealt a crushing warning by former F1
driver Martin Brundle, that Alpine executive advisor Flavio
Briatore views drivers as a "disposable item". The warning follows
what has been a disastrous period for the Argentinian since he
replaced Jack Doohan ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Colapinto has the worst average qualifying result on the grid, and
is the only active F1 driver yet to score a point. He has
struggled for outright pace and has often been comfortably adrift
of Pierre Gasly, whilst several mistakes have also been made. On
his return to F1 in Imola, Colapinto crashed in qualifying, whilst
he also crashed in qualifying at Silverstone – he failed to start
the British Grand Prix. Perhaps his biggest setback came last
Wednesday at the Hungaroring, where he suffered a big accident
during a Pirelli tyre test , resulting in visit to the medical
centre. Despite his struggles, the 22-year-old remains in the
second Alpine seat, and is expected to remain in the cockpit for
the Dutch Grand Prix after the summer break. Brundle has not been
impressed by the Alpine driver's performances, and warned him that
he is in a bad position heading into 2026 and the new regulations.
"Colapinto, well, he's still in it, isn't he?" Brundle said on Sky
F1 in Hungary. "You hear different stories about his sponsorship,
arriving, not arriving. "He's certainly not doing a particularly
good job. He looked really spectacular in the early days of
Williams, didn't he? But then he crashed a lot at Williams after
that. "So it doesn't bode [well]. I think 2026, definitely doesn't
bode particularly well. But the trouble is with Flavio, as I know
well, you're a disposable item as a racing driver, generally
speaking. "That's sort of been his MO through the years, because
this is a competitive business, not finishing school, something
I've said many times before. If you don't deliver, you'll be like a
light bulb, they'll take you out and put another bulb in."
