Alpine approach Valtteri Bottas as Colapinto future still unclear

Indeed, barely a quarter into the 2025 campaign, Franco Colapinto was put alongside Pierre Gasly in the A525.

Since then, however, the 22-year-old has struggled to find his rhythm.

In many ways, this is to be expected. Being put into a seat mid-season without any pre-season testing is a huge challenge.

Alongside a seasoned driver like Gasly, Colapinto was always going to face an uphill battle to hold his own.

Unfortunately for Colapinto, this is not an excuse that Flavio Briatore will accept.

Briatore has given mixed messages about his satisfaction with his latest signing over the last few months.

Most recently in Austria, however, the 74-year-old stated that Colapinto will “need to improve”.

Because of this, the latest report from The Race – that Alpine have approached Valtteri Bottas – is all the more significant.

Whilst it would be a stretch to say that Bottas is on his way to join the French team, there is certainly some hesitance at Enstone about Colapinto.

Given that Alpine replaced Esteban Ocon (who spent five years at the team) before the final race of 2025, they cannot be discounted from making another shock change.

Colapinto still has time to cement himself at Alpine – but he is nonetheless under heavy scrutiny.

With the French team set to become a Mercedes customer in 2026, signing Bottas is a realistic path forward.

Uncertainty continues at Alpine

Of course, Bottas is also in negotiations with Cadillac. The American outfit are looking to finalise their driver line-up ahead of their 2026 entry.

As reported by LWOS on several occasions, Valtteri Bottas is a front-runner to join Cadillac in 2026.

This means, even if Alpine are interested in the Finn’s services, they will face competition to secure his signature.

At the same time, Flavio Briatore will be impatient for results to improve.

Bottas, thanks to his experience and proven track record, is therefore a logical option he could turn to.

Frankly, though, the uncertainty surrounding Colapinto’s future speaks to something beyond his performances.

Generally speaking, the Argentine has shown comparable pace to Gasly on race day – though he admits to still lacking pace in qualifying.

Still, in the context of his mid-season arrival, Colapinto cannot be criticised too harshly for his results.

The bigger issue, as it has always been at Alpine, is the direction of the team’s upper management.

With Luca de Meo departing from his role as Renault CEO, there is uncertainty about the Alpine F1 project.

Whilst Briatore has downplayed speculation, the reality is that Alpine’s future is tricky to predict.

More stability is the last thing Team Enstone need, especially regarding its drivers which – for the foreseeable future – will do little to compensate for the A525’s performance.

Still, this does not mean Colapinto is guaranteed to finish the year with Alpine – a team who aren’t afraid to make dramatic decisions.