BREAKING- Franco Colapinto Re-signs with Alpine

Argentine Formula 1 driver, Franco Colapinto, has renewed his contract to drive with Alpine for the 2026 season, confirming their lineup.

(Image credits to © XPBimages)

The 22-year-old was originally signed by Alpine to be a test and reserve driver after debuting in F1 with Williams Last season. His first race with Williams came after the summer break of 2024, where he replaced Logan Sargeant for the rest of the season. 

At that stage, Carlos Sainz had been confirmed as the second Williams driver for the 2025 season, driving alongside Alex Albon. This meant that Franco would be out of a seat for once the season ended. 

Following this, it was announced in January that Colapinto had joined Alpine as a test reserve driver, with rookie Jack Doohan to replace Esteban Ocon, who had switched teams to race with Haas. Despite this, due to the nature of the team, with Flavio Britatori owning it, fans began to speculate Franco’s position. 

And they weren't wrong to. It was later revealed that Jack was on a 5-race contract with a contingency plan to re-sign for the rest of the season based on results. Doohan did not live up to Alpine's expectations, and that's when Franco was brought in, also on a 5-race contract. 

Since then, Colapinto has achieved similar results as the Australian rookie and is yet to score points. Despite this, due to Franco’s progress and performance at Williams last year, Alpine has decided to keep him for the 2026 season.

When announcing Colapinto’s seat for next season, the Friday morning of the Brazilian Grand Prix, the team stated via X that their newly confirmed lineup will bring “further stability and continuity to the team for the new regulation era.

This makes Alpine's team line-up for next year fully confirmed, with Pierre Gasly continuing to drive for Alpine after signing a multi-year contract extension earlier this year. 

Article written by Isa Charlton