Flavio Briatore has indicated that Alpine are choosing between internal options for the 2026 F1 season. But now it’s emerged that he tried to sign a coveted driver from elsewhere.
Pierre Gasly recently signed a new contract that runs until the end of 2028. But teammate Franco Colapinto only penned a race-by-race deal when he replaced Jack Doohan earlier this year.
Alpine have privately confirmed that Colapinto will complete the season but his future beyond that is undecided. The main threat is believed to be Paul Aron, another of Briatore’s reserve drivers.
DRIVERTEAMFranco ColapintoAlpine*George RussellMercedesAndrea Kimi AntonelliMercedesLiam LawsonRacing BullsIsack HadjarRacing BullsYuki TsunodaRed BullDrivers out of contract at the end of the 2025 F1 season
*Franco Colapinto on a race-by-race contract
But now, a report from BBC Sport suggests the team were actively pursuing another driver, only to lose out. While Briatore has questioned the standard of young talent in 2025, he was chasing McLaren’s Alex Dunne in the background.
Flavio Briatore unsuccessfully tried to sign Alex Dunne from McLaren
McLaren and Dunne surprisingly announced on Thursday that they had agreed to part ways. The Irishman had made two FP1 appearances this year and currently ranks fifth in the F2 standings.
But Dunne and McLaren couldn’t agree on what his future should look like. With Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri both under contract and hailed by the team as F1’s best duo, there was no realistic prospect of a seat at the Woking outfit.
Photo by James Sutton – Formula 1/Formula Motorsport Limited via Getty Images
With his release now official, Dunne is expected to join the Red Bull programme. He will stay in F2 for another year (assuming he doesn’t win the series), but has clearly positioned himself as a 2027 Racing Bulls contender.
Andrew Benson’s report also says that Alpine were in talks with Dunne, but ‘insiders’ say the negotiations with Briatore have ‘collapsed’. It’s unclear if the Italian would have put him straight in the car or signed him as a reserve.
David Coulthard thinks Alex Dunne is ‘the real deal’
It was suggested earlier this month that Alpine had booked a test for Dunne to assess his level. Assuming that hasn’t happened already, it clearly won’t go ahead now.
Dunne was immense on his FP1 debut at the Austrian GP, setting the fourth-fastest time and lapping within a tenth of Piastri. He was only 16th on his second outing at Monza, but a half-second deficit to Norris was still respectable.
F1 pundit David Coulthard has called Dunne the ‘real deal’. Intriguingly, he was aware more than a month ago that ‘other people within the sport’ had taken notice.
Coulthard believes Dunne deserves a place on the grid, but he’ll have to wait at least another year. In the meantime, he must impress not only in F2, but also in any practice sessions or private tests for the Red Bull-owned teams.