Who should partner Gasly at Alpine for F1 2026?

The 2026 Formula 1 grid is starting to take shape with only four teams left to officially confirm their driver line-up for next season.

Mercedes is one, but the Silver Arrows is expected to keep its pairing of George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli, while Alpine, Red Bull and Racing Bulls are the other three.

But then again, Isack Hadjar is favourite to replace the struggling Yuki Tsunoda at Red Bull, with F2’s Arvid Lindblad potentially contesting his rookie campaign at sister squad Racing Bulls alongside Liam Lawson.

What is happening at Alpine though is a lot more unknown. Lead driver Pierre Gasly is signed until the end of 2028, but Franco Colapinto is fighting for his future, having not yet scored a point in 2025.

That is despite a relatively solid nine-round stint with Williams last year, when the rookie claimed two points finishes and impressed much of the paddock. 

So what should Alpine do with him? Extend his contract or replace the struggling 22-year-old, but with whom? 

Give Colapinto another year – Stuart Codling

F1 is a category inhabited by people with short memories, but I’m old enough to remember when Colapinto was the most exciting new talent in town. Indeed, this time last year there were those who became very animated when pointing out that he’d just outqualified an experienced and highly rated team-mate – Alex Albon – in only his second grand prix weekend (although, since Albon only got one Q3 lap in because the team left an airbox fan in situ, that claim requires some suspension of disbelief).

Thereafter, Colapinto’s exuberance took him into the wall a couple of times too often, but he had done enough to amply demonstrate that he’s quick.

In the Alpine this season that tendency to make mistakes has persisted, but the speed has been masked by a car which is tricky to drive and has had little development. Tossing Colapinto on the bonfire now would be to mirror the folly of Red Bull, which has motored through several occupants of the second seat before realising that the car was the problem.

Alpine has no such delusions but remains under pressure from above to deliver, so Flavio Briatore may be tempted to swing the axe anyway to demonstrate that he’s busy doing something.

But who else would represent a meaningful upgrade? Indubitably, Colapinto is better than we’ve seen this season. Give him a better car and we should see the fireworks those first races with Williams suggested were possible.

Tsunoda would be a major coup should Red Bull release him – Ben Vinel

Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri, Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

I believe Tsunoda should be a no-brainer for Alpine if he happens to be available.

That’s an ‘if’, yet not unlikely, as Red Bull may want to create space for Lindblad to graduate to F1 next year and Tsunoda has failed to reach the hoped-for level next to Max Verstappen – just like his predecessors.

Tsunoda is fast, there’s no doubt about it; still inconsistent, albeit more and more experienced. His time at Red Bull is not quite panning out the way he’d want, but he certainly is learning a lot in this difficult situation. Top-team experience has always been valuable in F1; that’s why Cadillac opted for Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez, two drivers who arguably are past their prime but can steer the new American squad in the right direction.

Furthermore, Tsunoda’s relationship with Gasly must not be overlooked. The two were team-mates at AlphaTauri during the Japanese racer’s first two seasons in F1. Tsunoda had spent just two years in Europe prior to his F1 debut in 2021, so the then 20-year-old was still feeling the culture shock. Gasly played a big-brother role, and the two are now friends.

Admittedly, team-mate harmony will hardly make or break a team – setting aside F1’s wildest rivalries – but this would still be a nice boost for Alpine.

F2 leader Fornaroli can be the next Bortoleto – Jake Boxall-Legge

Race winner Leonardo Fornaroli, Invicta Racing

Photo by: Formula Motorsport Ltd

After speaking to Leonardo Fornaroli for the October issue of Autosport, it soon became clear just how driven the young Italian was in his goal of reaching F1. Even without the support of a current F1 team’s academy set-up, he’s been a paragon of consistency and professionalism in F2, interspersing victories with points finishes in all but two races. He’s a reserved character who doesn’t get involved in incidents, and not the most flamboyant of racers – but for a rookie he’s been incredibly impressive.

Fornaroli should absolutely be in the reckoning for an Alpine drive next year.

If Gabriel Bortoleto (who followed an incredibly similar trajectory through the junior levels) can make it to F1 and almost immediately prove that he belongs in the series, then Fornaroli should be considered as a similar talent. Much had been made of his winless run to the F3 title in 2024, but a) he’s dispelled the suggestions that he can’t close out races with his four F2 wins this term, and b) at Alpine, it’s likely that the expectation of winning races won’t become immediately apparent.

What the team needs is someone who, when given a car capable of points finishes, can deliver them metronomically. That’s been his modus operandi for the past two seasons. Alpine needs stability in the second seat, and that’s something that Fornaroli’s potential should be able to corner. While Colapinto has been improving of late, he’s not been consistent.

As much as Briatore might feel more inclined to promote from within the Alpine system, there’s some real potential lurking outside of the programme – they just need a chance in the spotlight.

A messy environment has made it hard for Colapinto – Ed Hardy

Franco Colapinto, Alpine

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images

Let’s be real: Colapinto isn’t a superstar. He had an average junior career, only took fourth in his sophomore F3 campaign, was hardly on anybody’s radar to reach F1 and got there simply by being in the right place at the right time.

Granted, his start to life at Williams was impressive – two point finishes in his opening four grands prix marked a considerable improvement over predecessor Logan Sargeant – but lots of drivers can perform well when they have a point to prove. Just look at Nyck de Vries in the build-up to him landing an F1 drive. 

Colapinto’s early results were never sustainable in the long-term and that has been proven this year, as he still awaits his first points finish for Alpine. But Alpine, as a whole, is in a bit of a mess, and there are problems which lie deeper than Colapinto.

The management structure, for example, has been under constant change, talks of a Christian Horner buy-in will not die down and why-oh-why has it built a five-a-side team of reserve drivers?

Amid all the chaos it needs stability, and one way it can do that is by not churning through team-mates for Gasly, because otherwise it is just adding to the problem. One does have doubts over Colapinto being the long-term solution for Alpine, but would his results improve should the team give him its full public support?

A driver can do a lot better if he is given the confidence and freeness to perform and, right now, Colapinto isn’t getting any of that. He is only 22 years old after all, so it’s understandable if the Argentine isn’t the finished article just yet.

So be patient, let him develop, see how he adapts to the new regulations and if he is still struggling in 12 months’ time then, fine, move on. But the sample size is currently too small and the environment at Alpine would make it hard for anybody to perform. 

Browning is worth the punt – Kevin Turner

Podium: second place Luke Browning, Hitech TGR

Photo by: Peter Fox / Getty Images

When the second Williams seat was filled by Sargeant and then Colapinto, Luke Browning’s chances of an F1 opportunity at the Grove outfit looked reasonable. But with the impressive Albon and proven grand prix winner Carlos Sainz now on the Williams books, perhaps the 23-year-old needs to start considering other options.

There aren’t a lot of drivers with extensive F1 experience who haven’t been signed up elsewhere already, so it makes sense for Alpine to look at those towards the top of the junior single-seater ladder. Its own academy members Gabriele Mini and Kush Maini have had difficult seasons in F2, while Browning is still in the title fight in third spot.

Third in F3 last season with two feature race wins, Browning has been consistently in the mix at the front of the field in his rookie F2 campaign. He has scored nine podiums, including a win in the main race at Monza, and has had an edge over his Hitech team-mate Dino Beganovic, who is a Ferrari Driver Academy member.

The 2022 GB3 champion is a good racer, has a positive personality that would quickly get his engineers and mechanics on-side, and has always been a winner despite a relative lack of funds and never having stayed long in any series.

Browning impressed during his Aston Martin F1 prize test drive for his success in the 2022 Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver Award, which he won against current Haas driver Oliver Bearman. He’s also tested F1 machinery with Williams and has been around the paddock enough to have a good idea about how it all works.

You can never be sure how a young driver will get on when they get their F1 chance, but Browning’s experience and record so far suggest he has what it takes.

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– The Autosport.com Team