Colapinto hint in brief social media post as Alpine rumours grow

Franco Colapinto father in cryptic social post amid Alpine F1 2025 rumours

A report by Argentine-based publication Diario Olé has claimed that Colapinto is close to securing a race seat with Alpine for F1 2025, with a deal said to be ‘imminent’ according to a ‘very reliable source.’

It is said that the deal could be finalised ‘sooner than later’ with an announcement possible as soon as this week.

Colapinto, who impressed during a nine-race stint with Williams last season, would likely replace Jack Doohan in Alpine’s F1 2025 driver lineup.

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Doohan was confirmed as Pierre Gasly’s new team-mate at the Dutch Grand Prix in August, four days before Colapinto replaced Logan Sargeant at Williams for the second half of last season.

Colapinto’s instant impact at Williams, which saw him score points in two of his first four races in Azerbaijan and the United States, saw him attract interest from some of F1’s biggest teams, including Red Bull and Alpine.

Despite Doohan holding a valid contract for F1 2025, rumours towards the end of 2024 claimed Alpine adviser Flavio Briatore had made it his mission to sign Colapinto.

The pair were spotted in conversation – along with Colapinto’s manager, Maria Catarineu of Bullet Sports Management – in the paddock by PlanetF1.com’s on-the-ground reporter Thomas Maher at the penultimate race in Qatar (bottom).

However, Doohan went on to make his F1 debut at the season-ending Abu Dhabi GP a week later after Esteban Ocon was released early from his contract to link up with new employers Haas.

Diario Olé has claimed that Doohan’s contract for F1 2025 is valid only for the first six races, which, if true, would take him up to the Miami GP on May 4.

And a social media post by Colapinto’s father, Anibal, has only intensified the speculation surrounding Alpine’s F1 2025 driver lineup.

Using Instagram’s story function, which allows users to post images and videos for a 24-hour timespan, Mr Colapinto recently posted an image of himself wearing a Williams F1 t-shirt and raising a glass alongside a group of friends.

The image was accompanied by a short caption, which read: “There are few of us who already know everything….F1 2025.”

Alpine’s interest in Colapinto was thought to have cooled following a series of accidents in the closing weeks of the F1 2024 season, with the Argentine transported to the medical centre after a 50G crash in qualifying at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

However, Briatore, who previously won World Championships alongside Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso as the team principal of the Enstone-based Alpine team (then competing as Benetton and Renault respectively), recently teased that he could renew his interest in Colapinto this year.

He told German publication Auto Motor und Sport: “I’m interested in any driver who is fast.

“If there was an opportunity to get Colapinto for 2026, you have to think about it.”

Briatore also played down fears that Doohan would be replaced before the start of the season, moving to “guarantee” that the team’s driver pairing would remain unchanged for the first race of F1 2025.

Asked if Doohan and Gasly would both still be in place in Australia, he told Le Parisien: “The only thing we can be sure of is death!

“We’ll start the year with Pierre and Jack, I can guarantee that. After that, we’ll see as the season progresses.

“I have to get the team in the right condition to get results and the driver is the one who has to conclude the work of nearly 1,000 people behind him. Everyone works for just two people.

“If there’s a driver who isn’t making progress, who isn’t bringing me results, I change him. You can’t be emotional in F1.”