Alpine's 2027 line-up is settled, and it looks exactly like its 2026 one. Franco Colapinto stays alongside Pierre Gasly, ending a waiting game Flavio Briatore had been playing since spring.
The wait had a specific target. Briatore said openly in May that he was holding the second seat back in case one of Mercedes' drivers became available — a scenario that only opened up if Max Verstappen went there. Verstappen instead re-signed with Red Bull before the Dutch Grand Prix. Alpine announced Colapinto's extension nine days later.
Briatore's public reasoning avoided all of that. "For me, having consistency is very important. We are now settled from a driver point of view and I have said many times that, while this is an important piece of the puzzle, the most significant we have to get right is designing and building a fast race car, which absolutely remains our number one priority," the executive advisor said.
On the driver himself he was more direct: "We have seen Franco truly grow and mature into a great driver this year. His results in Miami and Montreal especially confirmed what I already knew: Franco belongs in Formula 1 and he belongs at this team."
That verdict has travelled a long way. Lawrence Barretto, F1's own correspondent, remembers Briatore describing Colapinto as "lost" during a difficult start at Enstone before calling him a "different" driver later on. Barretto's assessment of the renewal is that Colapinto earned it on track — six points finishes in 12 races, a career-best sixth in Montreal — with his commercial value as a bonus rather than a cause. Colapinto brings backing and a substantial South American audience that Alpine can sell to sponsors.
The Race is more restrained on the sporting case, noting that Colapinto sits 12th on 19 points while Gasly, in the same car, has 44. Alpine's machinery was the midfield benchmark early in the year and then slid backwards before the summer break, which makes the raw gap harder to read than it looks.
Colapinto's reaction leaned on stability rather than triumph. "I am very pleased to remain with this team in 2027. I feel very happy and very settled here and it's been even better that we have made significant progress this year compared to last," he said, thanking "the team, Flavio and Steve [Nielsen, Managing Director], for the trust placed in me."
Worth remembering how recently that trust was in doubt. Colapinto joined Alpine as a reserve, replaced Jack Doohan seven rounds into 2025, scored nothing that year, and had to beat off Paul Aron to hold the seat for this season.
What the announcement really confirms is how little movement is left in the 2027 market. Gasly is contracted to at least the end of 2028. Williams have retained Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon. The seat Briatore kept warm for a Mercedes refugee has gone to the driver who was already sitting in it.
Alpine are sixth in the constructors' championship, the target Briatore set for the year, and think fifth is within reach. Colapinto finally receives the upgrade package Gasly ran at Zandvoort when the team gets to Monza — which, on the evidence of Gasly's step forward there, may matter more to Alpine's second half than the contract does.