Nico Rosberg worried about under pressure F1 star “driving for his future” in Canada

2016 F1 world champion Nico Rosberg believes Franco Colapinto is “driving for his future” following a difficult return to the sport with Alpine.

Alpine handed Colapinto a promotion, replacing Jack Doohan after the Miami Grand Prix.

The Argentine starred during his short stint for Williams at the end of last year.

He was given a chance after Logan Sargeant was dropped due to poor form.

Colapinto scored points twice and immediately put Alex Albon under pressure.

Consequently, Colapinto was linked with Red Bull as they looked for a Sergio Perez replacement - or possibly another driver for their young driver pool.

Alpine advisor Flavio Briatore spoke openly about Colapinto during the final months of last year, even though they had signed Doohan as their second driver.

Colapinto’s form tailed off at the end of 2024, and Red Bull lost interest.

Alpine decided to snap up Colapinto as one of their test and reserve drivers.

When Colapinto was announced at the start of the year, his promotion to a full-time seat with Alpine felt inevitable.

Colapinto under pressure

Colapinto’s form has been underwhelming since taking over Doohan’s seat.

While lady luck hasn’t been entirely on his side - he looked to have good pace in Barcelona, but an issue curtailed his qualifying - Colapinto hasn’t looked like an upgrade over Doohan.

When Colapinto was announced as Doohan’s replacement, Alpine said he was on a five-race deal.

Briatore dismissed this suggestion at Imola when talking to the media.

However, the Italian, who hasn’t been afraid to make brutal driver changes over the years, said that he’s not happy with Colapinto’s current level of performance.

Sergio Perez has been linked with a remarkable comeback to the sport, while Sky F1 commentator David Croft has made a wild claim that Fernando Alonso could be in line with a return to Enstone.

Speaking in FP3, Rosberg spoke about how much pressure Colapinto is under.

“He is really driving for his future this weekend as he’s had many races now, and it’s just been a bit of a struggle overall,” Rosberg explained.

“Flavio Briatore is absolutely ruthless and he will chop you without even thinking about it. So, Colapinto needs to find his Williams form. Last year, he was doing so well and he really needs to find it. It is possible, so let’s hope he can find it this weekend.”