{"id":117053,"date":"2025-09-04T01:29:18","date_gmt":"2025-09-04T01:29:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/117053\/"},"modified":"2025-09-04T01:29:18","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T01:29:18","slug":"flavio-briatore-has-slammed-the-door-shut-on-assertive-f1-drivers-hopes-of-an-alpine-seat-for-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/117053\/","title":{"rendered":"Flavio Briatore has ‘slammed’ the door shut on ‘assertive’ F1 driver’s hopes of an Alpine seat for 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Just a handful of seats remain on the F1 grid for the 2026 season, and one of them is held by Alpine.<\/p>\n

They haven\u2019t been able to decide on a definite number two driver alongside Pierre Gasly since Esteban Ocon left them last year. Both Jack Doohan and Franco Colapinto have failed to stamp their authority down on the gig.<\/p>\n

It means that Alpine<\/a> have the opportunity to test the Formula 1 driver market<\/a> if they would like to bring in a more experienced alternative.<\/p>\n

Flavio Briatore<\/a> is a big player in their affairs, as he once was when they were winning constructors\u2019 championships<\/a> 20 years ago, and his choice is a critical one.<\/p>\n

Briatore just added an \u2018incredible\u2019 driver to Alpine\u2019s list<\/a> and is taking time to assess all of his options ahead of the 2026 F1 regulations<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Even Gasly \u2018would be worried\u2019<\/a> if a significant change is not made soon to help battle their downfall. Bottom of the standings is not where they want to be.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Alpine boss Flavio Briatore \u2018genuinely interested\u2019 in replacing Franco Colapinto with racing \u2018phenomenon\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\"AlpinePhoto by Clive Rose\/Getty ImagesFlavio Briatore has \u2018slammed\u2019 the door shut on Mick Schumacher\u2019s hopes of an Alpine F1 seat for 2026<\/p>\n

Even though he has been off the grid for nearly three years, Mick Schumacher<\/a> is still trying to find a route back.<\/p>\n

He works with the French outfit in the World Endurance Championship, but results haven\u2019t necessarily stood out.<\/p>\n

According to Auto Motor und Sport<\/a>, Briatore has \u2018slammed\u2019 the door shut on the German, who has no hopes of filling their second seat for 2026.<\/p>\n

Cadillac saw Schumacher as a \u2018win-win\u2019 signing<\/a>, but he has actually refused a reserve driver role, as well as a move to their WEC team (Jota).<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to see any other gaps in the market that he might be able to explore. The driver Martin Brundle once called \u2018assertive\u2019, according to RacingNews365<\/a>, looks to be off the grid for good.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: What F1 \u2018insiders\u2019 are now saying about Mick Schumacher\u2019s chances of joining Cadillac amid rejection rumours<\/a><\/p>\n

Mick Schumacher is in \u2018positive talks\u2019 with McLaren for a sportscar role in 2027<\/p>\n

After Schumacher left Mario Andretti \u2018particularly impressed\u2019<\/a>, he still failed to secure a cockpit with Formula 1\u2019s<\/a> newest team.<\/p>\n

Whether or not he lasts much longer with Alpine is another question, with The Race<\/a> now reporting that the German is in \u2018positive talks\u2019 with McLaren over a sportscar seat for the future.<\/p>\n

Their World Endurance Championship entry won\u2019t be ready until 2027, with a preparation year in 2026, but there\u2019s plenty of work to do, and an experienced driver is required.<\/p>\n

The 26-year-old still has a lot of upside and has been able to show a lot of talent behind the wheel in endurance racing already. He could be a champion in the waiting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Just a handful of seats remain on the F1 grid for the 2026 season, and one of them…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":117054,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[821,64,63,10367,3553,806,805,803,804,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-117053","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-motosport","8":"tag-alpine","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-flavio-briatore","12":"tag-mick-schumacher","13":"tag-motor","14":"tag-motor-sports","15":"tag-motosport","16":"tag-motosports","17":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117053","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117053"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117053\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/117054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}