Flavio Briatore believes ‘super’ Franco Colapinto is now proving ‘a lot’ of people in F1 were wrong

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Franco Colapinto had a baptism of fire during his first full F1 season under the leadership of Alpine’s Flavio Briatore last year. Still, the seasoned Italian thinks his faith in the 22-year-old is now beginning to bear fruit.

Colapinto’s seat at the Alpine F1 team has been under scrutiny since he was given the nod to replace Jack Doohan, following the Australian’s poor start to the 2025 term.

Due to the subpar performance of Alpine’s 2025 challenger, the young Argentine languished at the back of the grid, and the Enstone-based F1 outfit received further calls to oust Colapinto from his seat.

However, with Alpine now battling within the midfield, points have consistently become a possibility for the 22-year-old and his more experienced teammate, Pierre Gasly.

The most recent Miami Grand Prix marked Colapinto’s second top-10 finish of the season, and team boss Flavio Briatore detailed his satisfaction regarding his driver’s development.

• READ MORE: Franco Colapinto says Argentina has made ‘absolutely necessary’ step for F1 return after track visit

Flavio Briatore praises Franco Colapinto after career-best P7 in Miami

In an interview with Fox Sports Argentina inside the Miami paddock, the Italian executive was asked about Colapinto’s performance, which netted the Argentine a career-best P7 in F1.

“Franco was very, very good all weekend,” Briatore replied. “He did good in qualifying, and today was very solid with no mistakes. We are happy because now, we are clearly P5.

“We were just behind Ferrari, we finished seven seconds behind Lewis, and 20 seconds in front of Sainz. This was my target, to finish in the top six, and the team also did a very good job in the pit stops.

“Franco is driving very well, there was no pressure, and no mistakes. It was super, and this is what I expect from Franco.”

Is Franco Colapinto the most under pressure driver to save his race seat in 2026?

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At the team’s season launch event ahead of the season-opener in Australia, Briatore detailed how there are no more excuses for Gasly and Colapinto, while highlighting the latter’s readiness to start taking the fight to his teammate.

Asked what the atmosphere inside the team is like, Briatore replied, “The relationship between these two is super. The team is exactly how I want it; there is harmony in the team, and now everybody realises that Franco has the potential to be a super driver.

“I’ve believed in Franco the whole time. When I put him in the car, a lot of people in the beginning asked me… You know the story, but I was right, and we kept going.

“In this team, I decide, so I decided to keep Franco, and now he’s started paying me back.

• READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton’s unheard apology to Ferrari after Franco Colapinto incident at Miami Grand Prix

Franco Colapinto benefited from extra ‘training’ during F1’s five-week break

Colapinto’s career-best result in F1 comes off the back of a five-week break that was enforced due to the cancellations of the Saudi Arabia and Bahrain rounds of the 2026 season.

While it offered teams an opportunity to get stuck into car development, the grid’s occupants may have been ruing the fact that they weren’t able to get some more experience in the new generation of cars.

In the case of Colapinto, Alpine scheduled a filming day at Silverstone to garner the youngster some extra mileage ahead of the sport’s return.

It was reported that Briatore chose Colapinto over Gasly due to his belief that the 22-year-old needed ‘the most training’, and his philosophy may have actually worked.