ANALYSIS: Why Colapinto has been rewarded with an Alpine contract extension

Having upped his game in 2026, Franco Colapinto has been rewarded with a contract extension that will keep him at Alpine next season alongside Pierre Gasly.

The Argentine arrived at Alpine as reserve in 2025 off the back of a strong debut with Williams, where he had completed the final nine races of 2024 as a replacement for American Logan Sargeant.

He got his shot in a race seat a few months later when he was parachuted in to replace Jack Doohan early in the campaign – and then got the nod full-time for this season, fending off a threat from reserve Paul Aron.

It was a bumpy start with Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore telling me at the time that he felt Colapinto was "lost" before finding himself and his form and maturing into a "different" driver later in the season.

His form in 2026 has risen a level, with the 23-year-old scoring in six of the 12 Grands Prix so far, including a best result of sixth in Montreal.

That form combined with a high-performing Gasly – who has a deal with Alpine until at least the end of 2028 – has helped the team to P6 in the Teams' Championship, which was the minimum result Briatore had set for them this year.

That kind of form made him favourite to retain his seat but, naturally, Alpine assessed their options elsewhere.

Ultimately, they were impressed by Colapinto's levelling up in terms of on-track performance as well as his growing maturity and tenacity.

He's got a great working relationship with Gasly, which promotes team harmony, as well as Briatore and he has built stronger ties with the rest of the team.

The fact he brings financial support as well as a huge fanbase in South America, and is attractive to sponsors in that region, is a welcome bonus.

That all-round package convinced Briatore that Colapinto deserved to keep his seat for next season, with the Argentine believed to have been told the news during the Dutch Grand Prix weekend at Zandvoort.

Alpine know they are still in a rebuilding phase and thus the stability in their driver line-up allows them to focus on their biggest challenger – making their car faster and shutting the gap to the frontrunners.

An early renewal will boost Colapinto's confidence and allow him focus on maximising the results for the rest of the season without worrying about his future.

That's particularly important as Alpine are locked in a battle for P5 in the Teams' Championship, a position they feel is achievable by the end of the year.

That'll set them up nicely heading into 2027, when they will be rebranded Gucci Racing Alpine Formula One Team, with an ambition to slash the gap to the frontrunners.

There was some chatter that he could return to Williams, where he made his F1 debut, but the British team have retained Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon. In any event, Alpine was always Colapinto's most likely seat.

The Argentine is very happy with the team and has absorbed the pressure to deliver this year – having failed to score in 2025 – in impressive fashion. The challenge now is to get back to scoring points and keeping his upward trajectory.