Alpine have yet to find the right formula for their driver line-up with Pierre Gasly having already been partnered by Jack Doohan and Franco Colapinto this year, neither of which have scored a point
Flavio Briatore said he has « seen everything » Franco Colapinto has to offer as the Argentine continues to struggle in Formula 1. He was given a chance to impress by Alpine, replacing Jack Doohan six rounds into the season, but has failed to make an impact.
The Argentine has yet to score a point which has contributed to Alpine’s struggles this season. The team is rooted to the foot of the constructors’ championship standings and all 20 of the points they currently have were scored by lead racer Pierre Gasly.
De facto team boss Briatore has shown uncharacteristic patience with Colapinto so far. But, at the Dutch Grand Prix, the outspoken Italian suggested the driver’s days are numbered as he said: « I think I have seen everything already, I don’t think I need to see anything anymore.
« It is very difficult for a driver to cope with this car. These cars are very, very heavy, very, very quick, and for the young drivers to be put into Formula 1 – maybe it was not the time to have Franco in Formula 1. Maybe he needed another year to be part of Formula 1.
« I am not happy. What is important is the results. He tried very hard, and we tried very hard with the engineers to please him with everything but, really, it is not what I expect from Colapinto. »
The 22-year-old’s Grand Prix record compared to his team-mate is not terrible, having finished behind Gasly on five occasions out of eight since his ascension to the grid. But he has failed to take any chances to score points, while the Frenchman has managed two top-10 finishes in his last three.
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Briatore refused to rule out the prospect of another driver swap before the season is out, with Doohan still on the books as a reserve alongside Paul Aron, who has yet to get a chance to race in F1. The Alpine chief added: « Last year he had two or three races with James [Vowles, at Williams, where Colapinto raced nine times] and did very, very well.
« Maybe to be in a team with a good driver like Pierre, or racing in competition with your team mate, maybe we put too much pressure on him. We need to consider that. Drivers are human beings and we need sometimes to understand exactly what is going on in the heads of these kids, because they are young kids of 19, 20, 22, 23.
« Sometimes we underestimate the human part of the driver. We are looking always for the timing. Maybe I missed something in the management of the driver, Colapinto. For the future, honestly, I do not know. »
It is understood there there is unlikely to be an imminent driver change at Alpine with Colapinto set to get more time to find his feet. But unless he can make notable improvements, then Aron is likely to get a chance to show what he can do later in the year.
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