Briatore names two drivers on Alpine’s short list for F1 2026 seat

Flavio Briatore has confirmed Alpine is not looking outside of its own driver stable for Pierre Gasly’s F1 2026 teammate, with Franco Colapinto and Paul Aron the only two drivers in the running.

Although Alpine began this year’s championship with Jack Doohan in the car alongside Gasly, the Australian’s time on the grid was limited to just six race weekends before Alpine swung the axe.

Alpine’s short list for F1 2026 does not feature Jack Doohan

Doohan was demoted to a reserve driver with last year’s super sub for Williams, Colapinto, replacing him at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

The Argentine has failed to kick on and heads into round 17 of the championship without a point on the board.

It had Briatore admitting last month that Colapinto had not met expectations.

“For the young driver to be put in Formula 1, maybe was not the timing to have Franco in Formula 1,” he said at the Dutch Grand Prix. “Maybe [he] needed another one year to be part of Formula 1.

“I’m not happy when I look at the result. What is important is the result. Is really not, not what I expected from Colapinto.”

Despite his comments, the 75-year-old confirmed Colapinto is in the running to partner Gasly next season, with the 22-year-old on Alpine’s short list along with reserve driver Paul Aron. Doohan was not mentioned.

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“It’s between Franco and Paul,” Briatore told The Race. “Paul is a very nice guy, a very quick driver as well.

“And I need to understand what is the best for the team, you know?

“Franco arriving… these young drivers arrive in the team with a lot of pressure. [Kimi] Antonelli, [Franco] Colapinto, Jack Doohan and this and that.

“It is very difficult to manage the car, very difficult to talk with engineering. It is a big team. One thousand people, a big responsibility, and maybe some drivers were put in F1 a little bit too early.

“After six-seven or eight races, you see, Antonelli was better, and after that [Gabriel] Bortoleto was better. Then after that Franco is better.

“We need to consider what we can have.”

And that, says Briatore, is the entire list that he’s willing to consider for F1 2026.

“I don’t see any other possibility,” he added. “We see other ones, but we don’t feel it [anything special] – because the good guys go ‘boom’.

“I remember when Schumi [Michael Schumacher] was in Group C with Sauber, he won every race… GP2 was the same. [Lewis] Hamilton was bam, bam, bam, bam.

“Fernando was driving Formula 3000 or whatever and he was winning every race. I remember testing Fernando. I put Fernando in Minardi and Giancarlo [Minardi] called me and said: ‘I have never seen stuff like that’.”

“Now, take away Max [Verstappen]. The rest…”

The Italian went on to explain that he’s not interested in any of the Formula 2 drivers, not even Alpine-backed Kush Maini.

“Did you see the races in F2 and F3?” he explained. “You see one guy is winning a race. The next race he is 14th. You see the next race he is P3 and after one week he is P12 again.

“In our time, GP2, whatever, Hamilton was there and he finished first, second, second, third, second, third, first, third. It was a very clear indication, no? [Nico] Rosberg, bang, bang, bang, GP2.

“You remember many people from GP2. Now it’s very difficult because you see somebody P1. And after one week, he’s no more P1. He is no more P2 – he is P14. Very confusing.”

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