Franco Colapinto makes ominous Alpine F1 contract admission ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix

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Franco Colapinto is at a critical point in his F1 career as he faces huge uncertainty surrounding his future at Alpine.

The Argentine was drafted in to replace Jack Doohan after six races, with the Aussie having failed to score points in that time. The switch was predicted to happen before the season had ever started, after Flavio Briatore signed Colapinto from Williams over the winter.

Interestingly, the 21-year-old was allegedly given an initial five-year deal, which Briatore has denied. If true, the Austrian Grand Prix is the last of those five races, and Colapinto has been struggling just as much as Doohan was.

He has failed to score points in four races in 2025 as Alpine sit bottom of the standings. Colapinto did outqualify and beat teammate Pierre Gasly in Canada, but could only manage P13 in the race.

Nico Rosberg felt Colapinto was ‘driving for his future’ in Montreal, with pressure mounting on the Argentine to keep his seat. While Briatore has shut down rumours that Colapinto could be dropped, that could all change in an instant.

Franco Colapinto admits he does not know when he could be out of a drive as Alpine pressure increases

Speaking via Mercado Ads, Colapinto admitted that he does not know when he could lose his seat as ‘contracts are broken’ frequently in F1. Liam Lawson and Doohan have already been examples of that in 2025, and the 21-year-old could well be next.

“It’s a bit of a process and I ended up experiencing it last year and it’s something that, obviously, what I love is driving, but there are also a lot of aspects surrounding the sport that you have to understand,” said the Alpine driver.

“It’s a very big political part of the sport, that you obviously have to know how to manage well with the teams and so on.

“Well, it’s a sport that constantly brings a lot of risks, you do not know if in the end you have two more races, maybe you’ll be out the next race because the contracts are broken.

“It’s a life of a bit of pressure, maybe you see, because you live under pressure, but it’s a bit of what we like and what gives us that adrenaline of racing.”

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

What does Franco Colapinto need to do to keep his seat at Alpine?

Colapinto’s future is ‘far from secure’ at Alpine as F1 heads to Austria this weekend. He could find himself out of a drive before the end of the season.

Qualifying has been a major problem for the Argentine since returning to the grid. Colapinto crashed in Q1 at Imola and started on the back row of the grid in Monaco and Barcelona.

Colapinto simply cannot afford to get knocked out in Q1 if he is to stay beyond his supposed five-race deal. He will need to maximise everything this weekend in the A525, especially when Alpine have been linked with several possible replacements in recent weeks.

Sergio Perez has been linked with Alpine as he eyes a return to the grid. While the Mexican would offer significant commercial value, Perez is not an option to replace Colapinto in 2025.