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Alpine secures Franco Colapinto for the 2027 Formula 1 season
Franco Colapinto has signed a contract extension to remain alongside Pierre Gasly at Alpine through the 2027 season.
By Michael de Vries - 2026-08-27 12:00:00.000 - 3 min read
Alpine has officially locked in its driver line-up for the 2027 Formula 1 season by confirming that Franco Colapinto will remain with the team. The 23-year-old Argentine driver will continue alongside Frenchman Pierre Gasly, whose long-term contract was already secured. This announcement ends months of uncertainty regarding Colapinto's future following his mid-season arrival last year.
Colapinto initially joined the squad as a reserve driver at the start of 2025, backed by significant Latin American sponsorship. He was subsequently promoted to a race seat after just six rounds of the 2025 campaign, replacing Jack Doohan. While his first partial season yielded no points finishes during a difficult year where the team struggled at the rear of the grid, the current campaign has offered a stark contrast in performance.
Benefiting from a more competitive machine this year, Colapinto has established himself solidly within the top ten. He has secured six points-scoring results across the opening 12 rounds of the season. His standout performances arrived during a successful North American double-header in May, where he finished seventh at the Miami Grand Prix before improving to a career-best sixth place at the Canadian Grand Prix.
Alpine executive director Flavio Briatore emphasised the importance of stability within the team's garage. Briatore noted that watching the young driver mature and deliver strong results in Miami and Montreal confirmed his belief that the Argentine belongs firmly in Formula 1. However, Briatore also stressed that securing the driver pairing is only one element of a larger puzzle, stating that designing and building a fast race car remains the absolute priority for the organisation.
The team's notable step forward in the competitive order this year follows a pair of strategic choices made during the previous season. Alpine effectively wrote off development of its 2025 challenger to concentrate fully on the chassis regulations for the new engine era. Furthermore, parent company Renault shuttered its internal power unit project, leading Alpine to switch to customer Mercedes power units for the current campaign.
Reflecting on his new agreement, Colapinto expressed satisfaction with his current environment and the trajectory of the squad. He highlighted the clear progress made relative to the previous season and acknowledged the hard work invested by the factory in finding performance. The driver added that long-term ambitions remain focused on fighting at the front of the grid under the leadership of Briatore and managing director Steve Nielsen.
The team currently sits sixth in the constructors' standings after 12 rounds, a marked recovery from a bruising 2025 campaign. The garage's points tally includes a podium finish for Gasly in Monaco, though that specific result remains subject to an ongoing legal challenge. World champions McLaren launched an appeal against the removal of penalties initially handed to Gasly for pit-lane speeding during that event, with a final verdict expected from the governing body shortly.
Looking further ahead, the 2027 grid is gradually taking shape through early announcements and existing long-term agreements. Colapinto's retention ensures continuity for the Enstone-based outfit as Formula 1 prepares for its upcoming races, starting with the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. With his future secured, the Argentine can now direct his immediate focus entirely toward on-track performance for the remainder of the year.