A news shook the world of motoring. There was confirmation that Franco Colapinto will run the next five races with the Alpine team of Formula 1, which not only generated enthusiasm among fans, but also He had blunt public support by a key figure: Flavio Briatore.
Alpine’s main face, with a long career in the world of F1, published a message on his official account of Instagram that marked the tone of the ad. He did it with an image from the boxes of the French team, in which he is seen with the 21 -year -old Buenos Aires young.
“We have made the decision to put Franco in the car with Pierre for the next five races. Franco is an exciting talent, a pilot to which many teams from the entire grill aspired. I am anxious to see how it grows and develops in the team. Now he has the opportunity to show us what he is capable of doing as an official pilot, along with Pierre, starting in Icola, ”said Briatore.
The comment was accompanied by an institutional statement that also mentioned the Australian Jack Doohan, who lost his place: “We will continue to support Jack on the team, he has acted in a very professional way in his role as a race pilot so far and we hope this will continue.”
In the publication, Colapinto responded with a simple but blunt “come on”accompanied by the emoji of one arm making strength, reflecting the feeling of contained expectation that is now transformed into concrete opportunity.
The rise of Colapinto to the headline in Alpine was not accidental. Since his arrival at the team in January, his integration was guided by BriTore, who in his formal return to the role of advisor in the team based in Estone, opted to rejuvenate the pilot squad.
Briatore, a historic leader who led to the top to names such as Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso, not only detected in the Argentine a solid project, but also a figure capable of generating immediate impact on track. His support was held in Acts: Colapinto surpassed in all the tests prior to Paul Aron and Kush Maini, the other two development pilots.
-In addition, the Argentine stood out in the work with simulators, being decisive in the distance adjustments, as happened in the Bahrain Grand Prix, where the data that the team processed from the headquarters helped improve the performance of the official cars.
This way, Colapinto will have its premiere on May 18 at Emilia Romaña’s Grandcircuit where he already got victories in other categories. Its confirmed calendar also includes the dates in Monaco (May 25), Spain (June 1), Canada (June 15) and Austria (June 29).
In parallel, Jack Doohan, who debuted last year at Abu Dhabi in replacement of Esteban Ocon and did not add points in all his presentations throughout what goes from 2025, will take the role of Pilot Reserve. His irregular performance, with important errors in the races of Japan and China, made him lose ground in front of a collapth that met all internal expectations.
In an interview after the announcement, Briatore stressed the logic behind the change: “After analyzing the first races of the season, we have decided to align Franco with Pierre for the next five tests. In a field as close as this year, and with a competitive car, we understand the need to rotate our duo. The next five races will give us the opportunity to try something different and we will evaluate our options after this period.”
Colapinto himself, through his representative company Bullet Sport Management, expressed his enthusiasm and commitment to this opportunity: “First of all, I want to thank the team for giving me the opportunity to compete in the next five races. I will work hard to prepare for Icola and the next triplet, which will undoubtedly be intense and a great challenge for all.”
“I have stayed in shape and I am as prepared as possible with the support test program and the simulator in Estone. I will do my best to adapt quickly and do my best to get the best results with Pierre,” he added.
The Argentine now must demonstrate his capacity at the highest level, with the pressure of representing his country after more than two decades without a national presence in the starting grid. On his backs, in addition to the support of Briatore, he has the responsibility of responding to the expectation generated between fans and sponsors.
