Flavio Briatore has drawn the contours of Franco Colapinto’s immediate future, telling the official Formula One podcast ‘Beyond The Grid’ that the Argentine’s seat at Alpine is his to lose and that a decision will be taken before the summer break in August. “If Colapinto continues performing as he is now and the relationship between Franco and Gasly remains as it is… Why not?” the team’s executive advisor said, adding that the four grands prix before the hiatus—Austria, Britain, Belgium and Hungary—will be decisive. The remarks, widely reported across Argentine media, were interpreted in Buenos Aires as a clear vote of confidence, though European paddock observers note that the driver market remains fluid, with names such as Fernando Alonso, Alex Albon and Mercedes’ George Russell still circulating as potential alternatives for 2027.

Colapinto’s on-track body of work this season provides the factual basis for Briatore’s conditional endorsement. The 23-year-old sits twelfth in the drivers’ championship with 16 points, having recorded a sixth place in Canada and a seventh in Miami, plus hard-fought points in China and Barcelona. He is one of only three drivers—alongside Lewis Hamilton and Esteban Ocon—to have seen the chequered flag at every race this campaign. Alpine currently holds fifth in the constructors’ standings, and while Pierre Gasly is locked in for the long term, Colapinto’s contract expires at the end of the year, making the next four rounds an extended audition.

Briatore did not limit himself to competitive matters. He expressed genuine bewilderment at the half-million-strong crowd that turned out for a Colapinto road show in Buenos Aires in April, remarking that the turnout for a driver who “has never won anything” was something he still could not comprehend. He then tied any personal support for a return of Formula One to Argentina directly to the Argentine’s presence on the grid: “If I still have Franco, yes. If I don’t have Franco, I don’t care.” The Italian also drew a parallel with his early handling of Alonso, suggesting Colapinto has yet to display the full extent of his talent, a view that leaves room for both patience and pressure.

The immediate stage for Colapinto’s next examination is the Red Bull Ring, where the Austrian Grand Prix runs from 26 to 28 June. A national heatwave warning is in effect, with temperatures forecast to reach 35°C on race day, posing a severe test for the new-generation power units and for driver endurance. While Argentine coverage is dominated by Colapinto’s contractual cliffhanger, the European sporting narrative is fixed on the championship battle: Lewis Hamilton’s resurgent win in Spain has cut Kimi Antonelli’s lead to 41 points, and Max Verstappen arrives with a Red Bull upgrade package seeking his first victory of the season on the team’s home asphalt. In a minor subplot, Brazil’s Gabriel Bortoleto will cede his Audi cockpit to reserve Paul Aron in first practice, a regulatory obligation that briefly sidelines a driver who describes himself as being in his best form.

For Colapinto, the arithmetic is straightforward. Four races remain before Alpine’s self-imposed deadline, and each session will be scrutinised for evidence of the consistency and speed that Briatore demands. The Austrian weekend, with its sprint-race absence but extreme conditions, offers the first data point in a sequence that will determine whether the Argentine secures a long-term foothold in the sport or becomes another promising talent left on the sidelines when the summer break arrives.