Franco Colapinto rival has now made a ‘good impression’ with Alpine ahead of 2026 contract decision

Follow us on Google Discover

Most of the attention in the Formula 1 driver market right now is on what Red Bull are going to do with their vacant seat alongside Max Verstappen, and when Mercedes will officially announce their 2026 driver line-up.

However, at the other end of the paddock, Alpine still have to decide what to do with Franco Colapinto.

At the Italian Grand Prix, Alpine announced that Pierre Gasly had signed a contract extension with the team.

Pierre Gasly is now contracted to Alpine until the end of 2028, immediately removing him from what could be a fascinating driver market next season.

With F1’s regulations changing next year, teams and drivers will be trying to position themselves as best they can for the next era of the sport, but despite Flavio Briatore’s initial doubts about Gasly, he’s settled on the Frenchman as his lead driver for at least the next few years.

However, it’s still yet to be seen whether Colapinto will be Gasly’s teammate for 2026, let alone the rest of his Alpine contract.

The Argentinian has yet to score a point since replacing Jack Doohan, but the last few races have seen him make plenty of progress.

Journalist Edd Straw believes that another driver has made a ‘good impression’ on Alpine recently and that could put him in the mix to replace the 22-year-old next season.

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

Paul Aron making a ‘good impression’ on Alpine ahead of 2026 Franco Colapinto decision

Straw was speaking on The Race F1 Podcast after the Italian Grand Prix, where Colapinto was unlucky not to finish ahead of Gasly.

He beat the Frenchman in qualifying, and only a quirk of Alpine’s strategy choices meant that he finished P17 with Gasly directly in front of him.

However, Paul Aron made his Alpine FP1 debut at Monza, having stood in at Sauber earlier in the season.

The Estonian finished bottom of the timing sheets during the session, but talking about Alpine’s second driver position for 2026, Straw explained: “There’s been quite a nice little, quietly tidy progression from Colapinto, kind of Hungary, and then the other side of the break. So gently encouraging.

“Of course, they’ve got Jack Doohan still there, who did show some very good underlying speed in his outings.

“Then Paul Aron, who had his first Alpine FP1 outing, he’d been out in the Sauber before that, and Aron is making a good impression at Alpine as well.

“So, yeah, they’ll have some decisions to make.

“They might go outside of what they’ve already got in their pool, but they also have options within it.

“And it’s just a question of whatever they do, they need to commit to one and stick with it.”

READ MORE: Who is Alpine reserve driver Paul Aron? All to know from age to racing stats

Would replacing Franco Colapinto with Paul Aron be a good idea for Alpine?

The short answer to that question is nobody but Alpine really knows.

Aron has done a limited amount of testing and a single FP1 session with the team, alongside his outings with Sauber, which won’t give Flavio Briatore the best idea of who’s faster.

However, Alpine staff have been quietly impressive with Aron for some time, suggesting the work he’s doing behind the scenes within the team is turning heads.

He doesn’t have the same level of financial backing as Colapinto, although that shouldn’t be a concern for any Formula 1 team currently.

If Alpine believe Aron is quicker than Colapinto, then they should make that switch.

There have been suggestions that Aron could replace Colapinto at the ‘tail end’ of 2025, which would give Alpine more data on how he compares to the Argentine.

However, Colapinto’s performances are definitely improving, and that might be enough to earn him more than a race-by-race deal heading into next season.