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Franco Colapinto secures his future by landing a new contract until the end of the 2027 Formula 1 season with Alpine, as the Argentinian is rewarded by Flavio Briatore for his second-year efforts. The 23-year-old sits 12th in the 2026 F1 season standings with 19 points on the board and a total of six points finishes in 12 races, making a notable step up since his first season with the French team. Although Pierre Gasly still leads the duo with 44 points, 15 of those points come by way of his unrepresentative third place at the Monaco GP – meaning the pair are relatively competitive. Whilst Gasly leads the head-to-head in qualifying at 10-2, the duo are far closer on Sundays with Colapinto narrowly behind at 7-5, meaning he is a reliable back-up to the 30-year-old. It is not expected for Colapinto, who only made his debut as a stand-in at Williams during the 2024 F1 season to beat his vastly experienced teammate, who made his debut in 2017. However, the proximity between the pair is an encouraging sign for the Buenos Aires-born driver to be so close as he continues to build momentum following impressive results such as seventh at the Miami GP and sixth at the Canadian GP. More from the Dutch GP Catch up with Total Motorsport’s latest Dutch GP coverage, including Lando Norris’ dramatic victory at Zandvoort, the full race classification, Max Verstappen’s Lap 1 crash, and the latest on Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari future. “For me, having consistency is very important,” Briatore said, officially. “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 No 1 priority. “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. “I expect both Franco, and Pierre, to continue doing a fantastic job on track and for the entire team to push relentlessly until we are fighting, and winning, at the front end of this sport.” Colapinto rewarded for turning Alpine form around Colapinto mad his debut in the sport on very short notice at the 2024 Italian GP as he replaced Logan Sargeant at Williams as the American lost his drive following two underwhelming seasons. And he instantly impressed by making his way from 18th on the grid to 12th, going on to score points in Azerbaijan and the USA as he proved capable next to Alex Albon, who only outscored him by three points over this period. Although he had issues with being somewhat crash prone, those were attributed to his status as a rookie driving under a set of difficult regulations in the Ground Effect Era, but also a man who did not have any preseason testing. The performances saw Alpine pay a substantial fee to buy him out of his Williams contract and to bring him to Enstone, where he was initially a back-up driver to Australia’s Jack Doohan. But he did not have to wait long for his debut with the team as Colapinto was promoted ahead of the Emilia Romagna GP – but he had a rough start as he crashed in qualifying and had to start from 16th. But he struggled to deliver consistent results and made several costly mistakes, including a series of crashes, as Gasly continued to deliver steady performances for then backmarker team. Tensions continued to rise and were captured by the Drive to Survive cameras as Briatore told him bluntly that he was the problem after rejecting a suggestion to try new parts on his car. Although he has not secured a point since the Belgian GP with two difficult weekends in Hungary and the Netherlands, his team principal is not overly concerned with the dip in form. The footage now seems a long time ago based on his performances in the 2026 F1 season and Colapinto has stepped up his game, sufficiently enough to secure a new contract as he locks down his Alpine future. “I am very pleased to remain with this team in 2027,” Colapinto said to Alpine. “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. “We have a lot more milestones to reach and I know the team is working so hard in finding performance and making the car better and better, our long-term goals are obvious – to compete and win. “And I am grateful to the team, Flavio and (managing director) Steve (Nielsen), for the trust placed in me to be one of its drivers going into the future. “I’m looking forward to seeing how everything plays out and focusing on my job on-track first and foremost.”