Alpine have now booked a private F1 test with ‘meteoric’ driver who could replace Franco Colapinto

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Flavio Briatore has a new leading candidate to potentially replace Franco Colapinto at Alpine in the 2026 F1 season, as he looks to find the best teammate for Pierre Gasly.

The Enstone squad have endured an underwhelming campaign so far this year, partly due to relying on Gasly to lead their quest. Alpine sit last in the F1 constructors’ championship after 16 rounds with only the 20 points that Gasly has earned to sit 14th in the drivers’ standings.

Colapinto and his predecessor in the second Alpine seat, Jack Doohan, rank 20th and 21st in the drivers’ championship following the Italian Grand Prix. The Argentine and Australian are the only drivers still yet to score a point in the 2025 F1 season, after 10 and six rounds each.

Given his leading role at the team, Alpine have signed Gasly to a new contract through 2028. But Briatore must decide who the Frenchman will share the Alpine garage with next year, as Colapinto currently only has a race-by-race contract after surviving an initial five-round deal.

Alpine to test McLaren junior Alex Dunne in view of replacing Franco Colapinto in 2026

Colapinto is likely to see out the rest of the 2025 season, with eight rounds remaining, but a change to Alpine’s driver line-up for 2026 is not ruled out. Briatore has admitted that Alpine “overestimated” Colapinto, with his average Grand Prix finishing position in 2025 only P15.2.

READ MORE: Who is McLaren junior driver Alex Dunne? Everything you need to know

Many names have emerged as possible successors for the 22-year-old, should Briatore pull the plug. And Autosport Web now reports that McLaren junior Alex Dunne has emerged as a ‘leading candidate’ to replace Colapinto at Alpine, having caught Briatore’s interest this year.

Briatore is wary about running another rookie after the struggles that Doohan and Colapinto have endured this year. But the Italian admires what Dunne has shown in his FP1 outings for McLaren and his Formula 2 displays with Rodin, so he has scheduled a test for the Irishman.

Alpine will run Dunne in a Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) session for their engineers to judge his suitability for a 2026 F1 race seat. As McLaren are locked in with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, CEO Zak Brown is now willing to loan Dunne to Alpine for the next one or two years.

McLaren do not want to lose control over Dunne’s future, as Brown sees him as a potential long-term replacement for the Woking outfit’s current drivers. But Dunne needs to impress Briatore in the TPC session, and Alpine’s executive adviser wants immediate results in 2026.

McLaren are looking to place Alex Dunne in F1, as Zak Brown warms to a loan deal

McLaren are looking to place Dunne at a rival F1 team in 2026, as Norris and Piastri are both under contract through at least 2027. Norris agreed to his latest terms that may keep him at McLaren through 2028 in January 2024, while Piastri signed terms through 2028 this March.

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

So, Dunne needs to find a drive elsewhere, tempting Brown to open the door for Briatore to replace Colapinto with the McLaren talent. The 19-year-old sits fifth in the F2 championship, trailing Leonardo Fornaroli by 50 points, with only rounds in Baku, Qatar and Abu Dhabi left.

Dunne, who Damon Hill called “meteoric” after his F1 weekend debut in Austria, is only one of several options on Alpine’s radar, though. The Irishman replaced Piastri in FP1 at the Red Bull Ring, and also featured in place of Norris during FP1 for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

Alpine junior Paul Aron has made a good impression in his FP1 outings this year, as well. The 21-year-old Estonian made his F1 weekend debut in FP1 for the 2025 British Grand Prix with Sauber, who he drove for in FP1 in Hungary. Aron deputised for Colapinto in FP1 in Italy, too.