Paddock ‘rumours’ suggest Franco Colapinto made a ‘fundamental’ error that led to British Grand Prix retirement

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Franco Colapinto suffered another disastrous weekend for Alpine as his British Grand Prix ended before it had even started.

The Argentine was in desperate need of a strong weekend, having failed to score points since he replaced Jack Doohan six races into 2025. An Alpine insider said Colapinto was losing too much time to Pierre Gasly, who has scored all of the team’s points thus far.

After outqualifying Gasly in Canada and reaching Q2, the 21-year-old looked set to get into the second part of qualifying at the British Grand Prix. However, Colapinto made a mistake coming out of the final corner and spun into the gravel.

Flavio Briatore had his head in his hands as he watched the Argentine pull the A525 over due to damage to the rear wing. It was the last thing he needed as Colapinto faces increasing pressure to stay in F1, but it got much worse on Sunday.

The Alpine driver did not even make it out of the pit lane as he suffered a technical issue and was forced into retirement before the formation lap. But speculation has suggested that he made a fatal error.

Paddock ‘rumours’ suggest Franco Colapinto burned his clutch in the pits and caused his British GP retirement

Journalist Ian Parkes told the RacingNews365 podcast that he had heard ‘rumours in the paddock’ that Colapinto had in fact burned his clutch. If true, it is a ‘fundamental’ error that no driver should make, which will plant more pressure on him to keep his seat.

“Now, Alpine turned round and said that there was a drive line failure, or a drive line issue that led to Franco’s very early retirement,” said Parkes.

“I’ve heard rumours in the paddock that actually he burned the clutch, and did so for the second time this season.

“And if that’s the case, if that is to be believed, then that is a huge fundamental error for any driver to make. But to do it once, to do it twice, I think we are most definitely going to see a different driver in that [car].

“I’d be amazed if Franco Colapinto was in that car in Belgium, I really would.”

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

Franco Colapinto is at risk of losing his F1 seat as Alpine weigh up options to replace him

Rumours had been swirling around the paddock at the British GP that the Argentine could lose his seat. Briatore ‘assured’ Colapinto he still had his trust, but that might have been shattered after his mistakes at Silverstone.

Colapinto appeared anxious and full of worry in an alarming interview after qualifying. He is clearly thinking about his future in F1, as Valtteri Bottas has been heavily linked with joining Alpine and replacing the 21-year-old.

F1 Oversteer understands Mercedes are pushing Bottas to join Alpine, with Toto Wolff open to his reserve driver making the switch to Enstone. Colapinto has now matched Doohan’s feat of no points in six races as Alpine sit bottom of the constructors’ championship.

While Bottas is the clear favourite for the seat, other candidates have emerged. Ted Kravitz suggests Felipe Drugovich is being considered, as well as Alpine reserve drivers Doohan and Paul Aron.