Alex Jacques doesn’t think ‘anyone would fancy’ replacing one F1 driver after the Hungarian GP

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The summer break has arrived at a good time for many drivers on the Formula 1 grid who need to recharge ahead of the second half of the season.

Formula 1 commentator Alex Jacques has been speaking exclusively to F1 Oversteer after the Hungarian Grand Prix.

With the Formula 1 driver market soon to reach its conclusion heading into the 2026 regulations, drivers are running out of time to prove themselves.

There are a handful of drivers currently fighting for their seats who still have more work to do to convince their employers that they belong among the 20 best in the world.

Laurent Mekies has told Yuki Tsunoda what to do if he wants to hang around beyond the end of a dismal 2025 campaign, with two Racing Bulls talents eager to take his seat.

And down at Alpine, Franco Colapinto has failed to impress or score a point since his return to the sport, leaving him 20th in the drivers’ championship. Following another tough race in Hungary and a crash in a test a few days after, F1 fans are all saying the same thing about Colapinto.

READ MORE: Franco Colapinto’s telling four-word reaction to horror Alpine pit stop at the Hungarian Grand Prix

Alex Jacques doesn’t think ‘anyone would fancy’ replacing Franco Colapinto at Alpine in 2025

Colapinto should ‘definitely’ be concerned for his F1 future after failing to do better than the man he replaced early in the season – Jack Doohan.

Jacques argues that there might not be anyone around the sport who would like to take Colapinto’s seat currently, given the terms of their race-by-race situation.

“Aron’s part of that Formula 2 graduating class of last year, and Aron was in the mix with Hadjar and Bortoleto for a long time in that season,” he said.

“Sauber have been able to put him in the car this weekend and compare him. So, there are two teams there with knowledge of how he operates behind the wheel. I really just don’t see the advantage of changing the driver, though, for Alpine.

“You’ve given Franco Colapinto all this time to learn behind the wheel, it might be useful to confirm him for more than one race at a time,” added Jacques.

“I mean, I don’t think anyone would fancy a job where you don’t know if you’re coming back next week. A race-by-race way of doing it, I don’t think, is quite the answer.

“So, maybe give him confirmation of a run as well, see what he can put together, maybe give him some performance objectives that he’s got to hit. But that’s another driver with a lot of talent.”

READ MORE: Max Verstappen’s F1 practice advice is just what Franco Colapinto needs amid Alpine uncertainty

Alex Jacques sees one big ‘concern’ for Franco Colapinto after Alpine struggles

Alpine have a ‘bigger problem’ with Colapinto than his raw pace, and need to find a way to iron out some of his expensive errors.

Crashing hurts their development budget, and that will frustrate the team. The only ‘concern’ Jacques has is that he hasn’t matched the performance he achieved at Williams.

“It’s not worked at Alpine the way it worked at Williams, and I think that will be the concern,” he said. “I don’t see any imperative in the cost-cap era for Alpine to panic and put an experienced driver in the seat like Bottas.

“I think they sounded him out out of a fear that Colapinto was going to fall off the back of the grid. That hasn’t happened. So, I don’t think they have to worry in that regard.

“It’s a team going through a transitional period. They bailed themselves out last year with a wet race result. If it stays dry for the rest of the year, you can’t see them hauling themselves off the bottom, so it’s been a tough year for the Enstone-based squad,” Jacques continued.

“To be honest, I do not see them changing. I see Franco Colapinto seeing out the season, and I think at the very least, he deserves to be confirmed for the next five races.”