Timeframe for Alpine’s F1 2026 driver line-up decision revealed
It has been revealed when Alpine will make a call on their second driver for F1 2026.
Alpine are set to decide on their second driver for the 2026 F1 season before the end of the current campaign.
The French outfit announced at the Italian Grand Prix that Pierre Gasly has signed a contract extension to commit his future to Alpine until the end of the 2028 F1 season.
But while Gasly’s future has been finalised, there is uncertainty over who will partner the 29-year-old Frenchman at Alpine next season.
The seat is currently occupied by Franco Colapinto, who was drafted in to replace the struggling Jack Doohan at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in May.
But Colapinto has underwhelmed since arriving from Williams and he has not scored a point in 10 races, while Gasly has collected 13 in the same time period.
It remains to be seen whether the 22-year-old Argentine will be retained for 2026 following criticism from the team’s executive advisor Flavio Briatore, who has since softened his stance on Colapinto.
Briatore has revealed a decision on Gasly’s teammate will come by the end of November.
Asked whether he had made a decision already, Briatore told Sky Sports F1: “No.
“For the moment, I believe Franco is doing a good job… he was a bit inexperienced in the beginning, like a lot of the rookies, young drivers.
“Now, in the last three, four races, he’s much more consistent, no mistakes and maybe it’s Franco, maybe we see.
“We have another four or five races to choose and that’s when we’ll see.”
Pressed on the timeframe for a final call, Briatore replied: “It is November we need to make a decision.”
What options do Alpine have?
Sticking with Colapinto and retaining their current line-up is one option.
Alpine could call Doohan back into a full-time race seat, but that seems an unlikely prospect given they already dropped him once.
The team highly-rate current reserve driver Paul Aron who could also get the nod.
The 21-year-old Estonian has completed F1 practice outings this year for both Sauber and Alpine.
Outside of their driver pool, there are not a huge amount of standout candidates.
Alpine’s options have narrowed since experienced duo Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez signed for Cadillac.
Their engine tie-up with Mercedes might open an unlikely door for reserve driver Fred Vesti, while a full-time F1 return for Mick Schumacher looks increasingly off the cards as he appears set to move on from Alpine’s WEC line-up.
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