Another question mark over the 2027 Formula 1 grid has been addressed this week, with the confirmation that Franco Colapinto will remain with the Alpine team for a further season. As Pierre Gasly is already committed for the long term, that means that the team will retain the line-up that has been in place since May 2025, after Jack Doohan was dropped.
The Colapinto news follows the recent confirmations that Max Verstappen will be at Red Bull until 2030, and that Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz will remain as Williams team mates next year. It all points to a relatively tame silly season in the coming weeks, with the majority of teams expected to keep unchanged line-ups.
The only doubt among the top four is the second seat at Red Bull, although Isack Hadjar has done more than enough to justify being given another year alongside Verstappen. Within the Red Bull camp, there is momentum behind F2 championship leader Nikola Tsolov, and the Bulgarian would be a logical candidate for Racing Bulls; however, it would be hard to justify dropping either Arvid Lindblad or Liam Lawson, the latter having strengthened his case with his outing for RBR at Zandvoort.
Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso has yet to be confirmed at Aston Martin, with the Spaniard making clear that it will be his decision to either carry on in or leave F1. The car’s form has been improving, and all the indications are that he will indeed stay on and that he’s in discussions with owner Lawrence Stroll about contractual arrangements.
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Haas has yet to confirm its full line-up, and there remain doubts over Esteban Ocon staying on, but the Frenchman has shown much better form of late after struggling with a difficult car for much of the season. Leonardo Fornaroli and Rafael Camara, proteges of McLaren and Ferrari respectively, are the main candidates for a Haas seat. No changes are currently anticipated at either Audi or Cadillac.
Colapinto was always favored to keep his seat. However, nothing can ever be guaranteed when Alpine boss Flavio Briatore is involved, and a few months ago there were even suggestions that Alonso might leave Aston Martin to rejoin the team with which he started his career. But keeping Colapinto was a logical choice: the Argentine driver has had a stronger 2026 season, with more consistent performances alongside Gasly and fewer costly mistakes, and brings substantial commercial support with him. It’s also a sign that Briatore didn’t have a better alternative up his sleeve; while reserve driver Paul Aron has done well on his FP1 appearances with both Alpine and Audi, there seems to be little momentum behind the Estonian.
“For me, having consistency is very important,” said Briatore. “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 number one priority.”
“We have seen Franco truly grow and mature into a great driver this year,” he added. “His results in Miami and Montreal especially confirmed what I already knew—Franco belongs in F1, 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.”