Ralf Schumacher says F1 driver now only has ‘one or two more races’ to convince his team not to replace him

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The Formula 1 summer break is fast approaching, and it’s typically when teams will make any decisions on drivers who have been struggling to perform during the first half of the season.

Last year, Sergio Perez survived being dropped by Red Bull at the halfway stage of the F1 season.

Logan Sargeant wasn’t so lucky at Williams, with team principal James Vowles deciding to bring in the relatively unknown young star Franco Colapinto as his replacement.

RB swapped out Daniel Ricciardo for Liam Lawson later in the year, before Alpine handed Jack Doohan his F1 debut at the season finale at Abu Dhabi at the expense of Esteban Ocon.

This year, there are several drivers approaching that four-week break in August under a similar amount of pressure.

Arvid Lindblad is on Racing Bulls’ radar to potentially replace Lawson after a strong start to his maiden Formula 2 campaign and recently earning an FIA superlicence.

Yuki Tsunoda is more likely to lose his Red Bull seat at the end of the season, but pundit and former driver Ralf Schumacher thinks another driver on the grid needs to impress his team in the next two races to avoid immediately being replaced.

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

Ralf Schumacher says Franco Colapinto has ‘one or two more races’ to impress Alpine

Schumacher was asked on the Backstage Boxengasse Podcast about the recent upheaval at Alpine and what this means for Colapinto’s future after being initially brought in on a five-race deal that theoretically ends in Austria.

He said: “Well, I think he [Briatore] just wanted to bring some peace and quiet, and that’s his own fault.

“The ghosts of the past, as I said, and I had several times [in my career], and I found it quite interesting, in the same breath he said, OK, I said that with Doohan, and I watched so many races and then I wasn’t that happy with the results.

“He just said, OK, now we have to try something different. That was, of course, a harsh statement, and now we can assume that if he wasn’t satisfied with Doohan, that would remain the case with Colapinto.

“I think he has to draw a line after one or two more races, because he said it himself, that he needs a great pairing in the car and in his team for 2026.

“So, it will of course be like that, but who knows how much money he has brought. I think there was a relatively big sponsorship on the table for Colapinto, and I don’t know for how many races that was for.”

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

Who are Alpine’s options if they decide to replace Franco Colapinto?

It was universally seen as quite a harsh decision from Flavio Briatore to drop Doohan after just six races this season.

After the double header in Austria and Great Britain, Colapinto would have also reached that number, and so far, he’s yet to prove he’s a considerable improvement over the Australian.

However, Colapinto’s stint is set to be extended, as per The Race, although crucially, he’ll still be being analysed on a race-by-race basis.

Colapinto suffered a huge crash in Imola, and while he outqualified Pierre Gasly in Canada, he couldn’t convert his 10th-place start into points.

Paul Aron is highly rated at Alpine, and while he doesn’t have the same financial backing as Colapinto, he might be able to deliver better results on the track.

Sergio Perez has been linked with Alpine, although it’s very hard to see him making an immediate return to the grid, particularly with the option of joining Cadillac next season on his mind.

The likes of Gabriele Mini and Kush Maini are racing in Formula 2 in Alpine’s academy, while Mick Schumacher is unlikely to turn down a return to the F1 grid.

It’s hard to see Doohan being given a second chance by Briatore, but crazier things have happened in the F1 driver market in the past.