Red Bull academy graduate was ‘expecting’ to race for Alpine at Belgian Grand Prix instead of Franco Colapinto

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Franco Colapinto will continue to fight for his Alpine Formula 1 seat at the Belgian Grand Prix this weekend. He’s managed to survive the three-week break following the British GP.

The Silverstone weekend was worst-case scenario territory for Colapinto, who crashed out of qualifying before failing to start the race. This naturally intensified the speculation that he’d lose his seat after just six races.

The Argentine’s average finishing position thus far has been 14th, and he’s struggling even more in qualifying (16th). This is the kind of form that saw predecessor Jack Doohan lose his seat.

Colapinto was initially announced on a five-race contract, though Flavio Briatore confusingly rejected that notion. The Italian has refused to confirm whether or not his latest signing will see out the season.

Jack Doohan thought he’d be back in the Alpine cockpit at Belgian Grand Prix

According to a report from The Race, Doohan was ‘expecting’ to regain his seat before the race at Spa. He was under the impression that he would be ‘back in the car’ if Colapinto failed to perform.

It’s hard to argue that the former Williams driver has been a meaningful upgrade. But Colapinto brings important sponsorship backing from Latin America, which has made the situation more complex.

Doohan, who left the Red Bull academy before joining Alpine’s youth ranks, made his debut at the Abu Dhabi GP last year but was only afforded six race weekends at the start of his rookie season.

As long as Briatore is in charge, he’s unlikely to get another chance for the Enstone outfit.

Briatore also has Paul Aron, a former F2 high-flyer, in his reserve roster. Aron made his first appearance in an F1 weekend at Silverstone, on loan at Sauber.

Franco Colapinto and Jack Doohan could soon face an enforced retirement from Formula 1

Alpine had been strongly linked with Valtteri Bottas, the Mercedes reserve driver, in the event that they decided to drop Colapinto. That deal could still happen.

Bottas has an offer ‘on the table’ from Alpine, though that may apply to 2026. Indeed, Colapinto is fighting a dual battle – one to see out the season, and one to stay in F1 next year.

Right now, his prospects are looking somewhat bleak. One report this week suggested that Colapinto is facing a ‘countdown’ to retirement barring a major improvement, with no other teams showing an interest.

A report from Auto Motor und Sport adds that Doohan’s F1 career is likely over already. His chances of landing a seat with Cadillac are thought to be slim.