CAN COLAPINTO SURVIVE ANOTHER DISASTER?

Franco Colapinto’s crash in the final day of the Pirelli Hungaroring test session, caused a major issue for Alpine, who has now lost the only “mule car” it had built to take part on those tests and simulate the downforce levels expected from next year’s Technical Regulations.

As this is not the first unnecessary accident the young Argentinian driver had since he joined Alpine, and his on-track performances have largely been underwhelming, there’s a lot of expectation about what Flavio Briatore will deciding regarding his immediate future.

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It’s worth reminding that Alpine did a deal with Williams at the start of this year, securing Colapinto’s services, on loan, for the next five years. That’s means that the Argentinian is contracted to the French team until the end of 2029, with Williams then getting first call on his services from the start of the following year.

But Colapinto has clearly struggled to get to grips with the characteristics of the A521, crashed a few times and twice made procedural errors that either ended his qualifying runs or didn’t allow him to start races – in Imola and Silverstone, respectively – putting himself in a very fragile position.

As Jack Doohan can testify, giving time for drivers to get up to speed and comfortable with their cars is now something Flavio Briatore is known for and faced with a hefty bill to get a new modified 2024-spec car to continue to work on the Pirelli tyre development program – including taking part in the crucial post-season test in Abu Dhabi – the Italian may have lost patience with his young driver.

Recalling Doohan doesn’t seem to be in Briatore’s radar, and he recently approached Mercedes to try and get Valtteri Bottas on loan until the end of the year. It’s also known that Carlos Slim Jr., who sponsors Colapinto and many other South American drivers, offered to put Pérez in the second Alpine until the end of the year, an offer that, at the time, Briatore turned down.

With young driver Paul Aron having two FP1 outings with Sauber in the last five weeks, as well as taking part in a good number of TPC sessions, it’s not impossible that Briatore will decide to put the young Estonian in the second car from the Dutch Grand Prix onwards. That would create history as Aron would be the first ever Estonian Formula 1 driver and could spur Pierre Gasly to perform even better to make sure he wouldn’t be beaten by a rookie.

For now Alpine is offering no clues of what Briatore’s next move will be, but what is clear is that Colapinto didn’t do himself any favors with his latest unforced error and won’t be having a very tranquil summer break as his immediate future is under question.

image: Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images/Alpine

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