Colapinto, the precarious driver. Coldness with Alpine, Nielsen ignores him after Silverstone – VIDEO

Colapinto must earn his place

The first years in F1 of Franco Colapinto have followed the same pattern. The Argentine has never been sure of his seat for the following season, and he had to earn it with his performances on track. He did not succeed in 2024 at Williams (where he was however a reserve), and even last year he was in doubt until the summer break. Surprisingly, even in his best season in the Circus, Colapinto does not have a guaranteed seat for 2027.

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While Pierre Gasly represents a certainty for Alpine with his 42 points in the drivers’ standings, the 2003-born is constantly under scrutiny. In Argentina, more than one person believes that relations with managing director Steve Nielsen have deteriorated. Supporting this hypothesis is a video posted on Alpine’s social media in which the Briton comments on the Silverstone GP completely ignoring Colapinto’s race. Argentines (who do not get along well with the English for historical reasons) reacted irritably, pointing out that Colapinto started 19th and finished ninth, ahead of his teammate.

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The video

This is the video in which Nielsen comments on the British GP.

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At Silverstone, Nielsen admitted that Colapinto will have to earn his place for 2027: “Everyone wants more. I believe Franco is a driver who took a bit of time to take off, so to speak. He is improving. This year he has already had some good races, I think of those in Miami and Shanghai. When the time comes, we will make the appropriate decisions. If he is good enough, he will stay; if not, there will be a better option. That’s Formula 1.” It is no secret that Alpine is closely following developments between Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin: the two-time world champion could join Flavio Briatore for one last – sensational – stint in F1 at over 45 years old.

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