Backmarker F1 driver now under increasing ‘pressure’ after his team principal’s demand at the Austrian Grand Prix

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The Austrian Grand Prix gave every team principal a clear indication as to how their drivers are performing as the halfway stage of the 2025 Formula 1 season approaches.

Fans were delighted to see Sauber rookie Gabriel Bortoleto score his first points in Formula 1, while Liam Lawson recorded the best result of his career at the Austrian Grand Prix.

Lando Norris found fighting Oscar Piastri tough, but still came out on top against his McLaren teammate to close the gap in the drivers’ championship.

Elsewhere, Fernando Alonso pulled off a wonderful one-stop strategy to finish seventh, while Nico Hulkenberg came from the back of the grid to take P9 and Haas’ Esteban Ocon snuck into the points too.

However, very few drivers who finished outside of the top 10 earned any credit, especially on a day when both Williams cars retired and Max Verstappen and Andrea Kimi Antonelli were eliminated on the first lap.

Alpine star Pierre Gasly was furious throughout the race with the pace of his car, while Yuki Tsunoda is under increasing pressure, having finished last.

Tsunoda collided with Franco Colapinto, which was the last thing the Argentine driver needed as he became the only active driver on the grid yet to score a point when the chequered flag flew at the Red Bull Ring.

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

Franco Colapinto needs to ‘up his game’ at Alpine as he comes under increasing ‘pressure’

Journalist Scott Mitchll-Malm was analysing the race weekend on The Race’s Patreon and the topic of Alpine came up in conversation.

The Anglo-French team currently sit bottom of the constructors’ championship and have only scored four points since the Miami Grand Prix.

Mitchell-Malm explained: “There was a bit of a not-so-subtle dig from Flavio Briatore, well, he’s not Luca de Meo’s executive advisor for much longer, but the de facto team principal of Alpine.

“A thinly veiled dig, I would say, of Colapinto not being up there again, remember that he’s in the car, and they dumped Jack Doohan because they said that they needed both cars up there in the mix.

“He said Colapinto was too far away from where they needed him to be, so I think there’s a little bit of pressure being put on Colapinto at the moment.

“He needs to up his game.”

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

Alpine consider Valtteri Bottas as Franco Colapinto replacement

Out of the 20 drivers currently on the Formula 1 grid, Colapinto is the only one on a race-by-race contract.

It puts him under a very different pressure from his rivals, although his performances on track aren’t helping matters.

Colapinto is often the slowest driver in practice, taking too long to get up to speed and putting himself in a more difficult position by the time he gets to qualifying.

David Coulthard praised Colapinto at Imola, and he outqualified Gasly at the Canadian Grand Prix, but he’s yet to finish above P13 this season.

Valtteri Bottas has emerged as a candidate to replace Colapinto as the Mercedes reserve driver looks for a way back onto the grid.

However, he won’t have an easy task, with Gasly also struggling to break into the top 10, which might end up being the Argentine’s only saving grace.