This weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix marks the fifth and final race, for now, of the Franco Colapinto experiment at Alpine. Or does it? Flavio Briatore announced the Argentine racer on a five-race deal when he replaced Jack Doohan, but the Italian has since denied making those comments.

Heading to Spielberg, the future of Alpine’s driver line-up is shrouded in mystery, but Colapinto will be desperate to string together a strong weekend as he looks to cement his place on the F1 grid. The 22-year-old has a best finish of 13th over his four Grands Prix behind the wheel of the A525 so far, and while he has been largely off the pace compared to team-mate Pierre Gasly, Colapinto took a step forward with his performance in Montreal last time out. However, time is running out for him to impress Briatore.

After the announcement of Doohan’s exit was confirmed, Briatore revealed: “Having reviewed the opening races of the season, we have come to the decision to put Franco in the car alongside Pierre for the next five races.

“With the field being so closely matched this year, and with a competitive car, which the team has drastically improved in the past 12 months, we are in a position where we see the need to rotate our line-up. We also know the 2026 season will be an important one for the team, and having a complete and fair assessment of the drivers this season is the right thing to do in order to maximise our ambitions next year.

“We continue to support Jack at the team, as he has acted in a very professional manner in his role as a race driver so far this season. The next five races will give us an opportunity to try something different and after this time period we will assess our options.”

The Italian has since wheeled back those comments. “Franco will race as much as needed,” he followed up. “I read somewhere that he’ll have five races, but no, there’s no set limit on his races.”

If Briatore does opt to axe Colapinto after the Austrian GP, he must get the replacement right. Doohan and Gasly have also started races for Team Enstone in 2025, meaning they will reach F1’s maximum limit of four drivers per team per season with a fresh hire.

The leading internal candidate to succeed Colapinto is Paul Aron, who has been working as a test and reserve driver since joining the team after his impressive 2024 Formula Two campaign. Briatore could also put Doohan back in the car, although this seems an unlikely outcome.

Then there are the external candidates. Sergio Perez is waiting on the sidelines and has reportedly engaged in talks with Alpine, although he has little to gain by stepping into lower-midfield machinery. Valtteri Bottas is also a compelling option as he looks for a route back onto the F1 grid after being dropped by Sauber.