Flavio Briatore has hit reverse gear after saying he is “not happy at all” with Franco Colapinto.
The Alpine advisor recently ousted Jack Doohan to install the highly rated and heavily backed Colapinto in the cockpit for no less than five races.
Briatore, 75, quickly denied that the 21-year-old rookie was limited to just five races. Still, just before the recent Spanish GP, he said he was “not happy” with Colapinto’s opening two races at Imola and Monaco.
“He crashed right away on the first race weekend,” the famous Italian said. “If I was to say I was happy, that would be a lie.”
However, before the Spanish GP in Barcelona, Briatore insisted that Colapinto simply needs more time.
“We need to wait one second to judge Franco. We’ll see. We’ll see this race. This is the first real race of Franco.”
In Barcelona, Colapinto qualified second-to-last, while teammate Pierre Gasly was in Q3. Gasly then finished P8, compared to Colapinto’s P15.
Before Colapinto’s fourth race for Alpine in Canada this weekend, Briatore says he remains supportive.
“Both Pierre and Franco are working hard with the engineers to push the team forward,” he said. “They have my full support.
“Franco is still adapting. I am happy with how both drivers and the team are applying themselves to get out of a tough situation,” Briatore added.
Drivers including Valtteri Bottas, Sergio Perez and Mick Schumacher have been linked with Alpine recently, while George Russell is also potentially on the market.
“If Colapinto is performing, he’s driving the car,” Briatore had said in Barcelona. “If not, we’ll see.
“2025 is a year we need to prepare ourselves for 2026. So whatever experiment I need doing, we’re doing.
“I don’t know at this moment if Franco will stay for the season or not, but let’s see. We’re only looking at the performance – nothing else.”
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