Capture the Moment
Aug 06
by darren in The Feed 0 comments tags: Alpine, Colapinto, Formula1

Colapinto Escapes Unharmed After Crash During Pirelli Tyre Test

Franco Colapinto walked away unscathed from a crash during Pirelli’s Formula 1 tyre testing at the Hungaroring, where Alpine, McLaren, and Racing Bulls are participating in a two-day programme focused on developing tyres for the 2026 season. Alpine confirmed in a brief statement that Colapinto was “OK” after being evaluated at the circuit’s medical centre following an incident at Turn 11 — a notoriously challenging right-hander. The crash prematurely ended Colapinto’s testing schedule and comes at a turbulent moment in the young Argentine’s F1 journey. Since stepping in for Jack Doohan at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, the 22-year-old has struggled to find form. He remains point-less, has crashed twice in qualifying, and has been outqualified by teammate Pierre Gasly in seven of their nine races together. There were glimmers of progress in Hungary, where Colapinto outqualified and finished ahead of Gasly for only the second time since joining the grid. However, this latest setback adds to mounting pressure, especially amid speculation linking Valtteri Bottas to Alpine — with rumours suggesting a mid-season switch could be on the cards. Alpine currently sits at the bottom of the constructors’ standings with just 20 points, trailing ninth-placed Haas by 15.
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Jul 01
by darren in The Feed 0 comments tags: Alpine, Bottas, Formula1

Bottas a potential Colapinto replacement

Valtteri Bottas has emerged as the leading candidate for a surprise switch to Alpine later this year should the Formula 1 team decide it wants to replace Franco Colapinto. Alpine’s executive advisor Flavio Briatore, who is currently its de facto team principal, has approached Mercedes to discuss the potential availability of its reserve driver. While it is understood that discussions between Alpine and Mercedes over Bottas have been very preliminary, and have not advanced towards a deal definitely happening, they do suggest that Briatore is considering his driver options amid Alpine’s ongoing struggles. Bottas, who was dropped by Sauber at the end of last year, has made no secret of the fact he wants to get back into a full-time F1 race seat. While it was previously thought that the all-new Cadillac operation was his best hope, as talks between the Bottas camp and F1’s incoming team have already begun, the possibility of jumping into an Alpine seat could offer Bottas another F1 lifeline – both for later this year and into 2026. Sources suggest Mercedes would have no problem in letting Bottas take on an F1 return with Alpine, especially as it will become a Mercedes customer team from […]
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Jun 08
by darren in Media 0 comments tags: Alpine, Formula1

Why Alpine F1 driver change is failing so far

When Alpine’s controversial early Formula 1 driver change happened barely a month ago, Alpine boss Flavio Briatore asked only three things of Franco Colapinto: “he needs to be fast, not crash, and score points”. Alpine only gave its rookie Jack Doohan six grands prix before bringing Colapinto in the expectation he would be a clear upgrade. But in three races since replacing Doohan, Colapinto is 0 for 3 in meeting Briatore’s demands – and this move is really not working out as planned. Like his predecessor, Colapinto hasn’t scored a point so far, although he’s had half the number of races Doohan did. He’s shunted out of qualifying at Imola, spent a tricky first F1 weekend in Monaco off the pace, then looked slow again in Spain at the outset. It seemed like a much-need improvement was on the cards in qualifying – only for Colapinto to miss his final Q1 run with a technical problem that he might have accidentally caused himself. Unfortunately, Barcelona was irreversibly compromised by that qualifying problem, and Colapinto was consigned to a third race in a row spent stuck near the back of the field. Despite Briatore’s subsequent claims to the contrary, Alpine said […]
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Apr 04
by darren in The Feed 0 comments tags: Alpine, Doohan, Suzuka

Jack Doohan ‘horrific’ 185mph practice crash

Jack Doohan is “shaken” but “unharmed” after suffering a high-speed crash during Friday practice at the F1 Japanese Grand Prix. The Australian, who sat out of opening practice as Alpine opted to run reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa on home soil, lost control of his car and spun off into the barriers at Turn 1. Doohan suffered extensive damage to his Alpine, including losing two wheels, and was seen gingerly walking away from the scene of the huge crash. He was uninjured in the accident and did not suffer a concussion, having been cleared following a trip to the Suzuka medical centre. The shunt was clocked at 185mph, according to Alpine, who are continuing to assess the cause of the accident. “If you were watching free practice two you would have seen the quite horrific accident of Jack Doohan into Turn 1,” Sky Sports F1 pitlane reporter Ted Kravitz said. “We haven’t seen a crash of this speed and with this kind of impact, certainly in the whole of 2025 and I can’t think when back to 2024. “185mph. Just think about that. Think about if you’ve been on the motorway and been naughty and done 15mph over the speed limit at 85mph. Think […]
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