£4m-a-year F1 driver’s future now ‘far from secure’ with no guarantee he’ll complete the 2025 season

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There are several drivers who will be feeling the pressure going into the Austrian Grand Prix.

The 2025 Formula 1 season is nearing the halfway stage, and some drivers are now beginning to establish their dominance over their teammates.

Oscar Piastri leads the drivers’ championship from Lando Norris, with both drivers currently fending off Red Bull star Max Verstappen.

Verstappen has dominated Yuki Tsunoda since his promotion from Racing Bulls, and Tsunoda’s future beyond 2025 looks in serious doubt as a result.

At Racing Bulls, Liam Lawson is under pressure as rookie Isack Hadjar continues to impress.

Hadjar appears to be Red Bull’s favoured candidate to replace Tsunoda, leaving a potential spot open for Arvid Lindblad next season.

However, there are drivers outside of the Red Bull sphere equally at risk of falling off the grid.

Franco Colapinto replaced Jack Doohan four races ago, and despite what Flavio Briatore has said, his initial five-race run with the team comes to an end after the Austrian Grand Prix.

It’s unclear whether a switch is going to happen before the British Grand Prix, but Colapinto’s future for the rest of the season is under serious threat after four pointless outings so far.

READ MORE: Who is Alpine 2025 F1 driver Franco Colapinto? Everything you need to know

Franco Colapinto’s position at Alpine ‘far from secure’ this season

Colapinto is reportedly on a £4m-a-year contract at Alpine after his switch from Williams over the winter break.

Journalist Edd Straw was speaking on The Race’s YouTube channel about the driver conundrum Alpine are currently facing and explained: “Alpine’s deep in a driver crisis.

“It’s well documented that former De Meo stooges like Laurent Rossi badly bungled the management of Oscar Piastri and let him jump ship to McLaren, where he is now leading the world championship.

“But having promoted its own junior, Jack Doohan, into a race seat for 2025 and given him his debut early in the 2024 season finale, Alpine looked set to lay that ghost to rest.

“Except that Briatore ordered the signing of another team’s junior, Franco Colapinto, over the winter, which ultimately led to Doohan being dropped after just six races this year.

“And Colapinto’s yet to do much since replacing Doohan, with his own place far from secure.

“Doohan is still on Alpine’s books, and it also has Formula 2 race winner Paul Aron in the fold.

“While Pierre Gasly is locked in for next year, this has left Alpine unsure what its driver line-up will be for the rest of 2025, let alone for 2026.”

READ MORE: All you need to know about Alpine F1 Team from team principal to lineage

Nico Rosberg warns Franco Colapinto he’s ‘driving for his future’ at Alpine

Colapinto needed to leave Williams at the end of the season to find a path back onto the Formula 1 grid.

Alex Albon and new signing Carlos Sainz are locked in for at least the next two seasons and are going to be very difficult to shift.

Colapinto has recorded a best finish of 13th since replacing Doohan, although he did beat teammate Pierre Gasly in qualifying and the race in Canada.

Nico Rosberg has warned Colapinto he’s ‘driving for his future’ at Alpine despite his short stint in the hot seat.

Briatore has shown how ruthless he can be with his treatment of Doohan, and Paul Aron is highly rated enough at Alpine that he might be worth putting in the car before locking in their drivers for 2026.