Bottas confirms Alpine talks to replace Colapinto – With the Formula One world turned upside down yesterday, following the breaking news that Christian Horner had been sacked by the Austrian parent company of Red Bull Racing, the silly season gets even sillier with a delicious number of options now possible.
Despite building the team from the ashes of the failed Jaguar F1 programme, neither Horner nor Adrian Newey whom he recruited were ever given shares in the racing organisation. Meanwhile, Toto Wolff who rocked up more than half a decade after Newey joined Red Bull owns a third of the Mercedes AMG F1 team valued last November by Blackbook motorsport to be in the region of US$3.94 billion.
With salaries of around $15m a year, Newey and Horner are wealthy men indeed, but not in the league of those who own shares in a Formula One team. A key part of Newey’s deal when Lawrence Stroll lured him to Aston Martin, was that the guru F1 car designer received equity in the Silverstone based team along with a title which states he is a partner.
Horner dismissal dominates the news cycle
Now speculation turns to Horner’s next move, which could be to the chaotic Alpine team which has churned senior management like a tumble dryer in recent years. The ex-Red Bull boss is on good terms with Flavio Briatore, who has been tasked with morphing the Enstone team from being a works Renault outfit to an independent entity and a customer for Mercedes power units next year.
The flamboyant Italian recently appointed experienced F1 operator, Steve Neilson as as managing director of the team with a start date set for September 1st. Yet Briatore remains fully in charge of the Alpine operation, although not the official team principal. Horner recruited to Alpine would be some story in itself, yet his experience of building an ‘also ran outfit’ into a mighty winner of championships is not to be underestimated.
Under the radar after the fallout yesterday from Milton Keynes is another hot topic for Alpine to digest. Franco Colapinto, the rising star in the paddock when he debuted for Williams last season, is sinking fast after another shocking weekend at the British Grand Prix.
Having again qualified plumb last, the Argentinian eventually was set to start from the pit lane with Alpine pulling his car out of parc ferme. Yet after the formation lap, Franco came into the pits for a tyre switch, stalled his car which then got stuck in gear and couldn’t be restarted.
Colapinto Alpine deal now ‘race by race’
This was the first race weekend after his initial deal to replace jack Doohan for five Grand Prix was complete. It was a sign Alpine were prepared to give the only current driver to have failed to score this year a little more time to prove his worth. But time now is short for the young Argentinian with reports emerging he is now on borrowed time with the team.
Valtteri Bottas is the most successful of the current crop of F1 drivers who are active but without a seat on the grid. He has been repeatedly linked with F1 start up Cadillac who are looking for two experienced drivers. But now to appears the Finn has another option on the table, that of replacing Colapinto at Alpine in the near future.
When asked at the British Grand Prix whether he had spoken with Flavio Briatore about the possibility of his reserve driver moving to Alpine in the near future, Toto Wolff replied: “A few times, actually. I saw him today and we talked about Valtteri. It seems that the interest in Valtteri is increasing even more.
“He deserves that seat. If someone grabs him as a race driver, we’ll let him go. Of course, with a tear in the corner of our eye. Ultimately, I give him advice as a friend. Valtteri ultimately makes the choice with his management. I try to stay in the background,” revealed the Mercedes team boss.
Talks with Alpine over a “short stint”
Franco Colapinto’s results are marginally better than his predecessor Jack Doohan, but with Pierre Gasly scoring 19 points so far this year, Alpine would be seventh – not tenth and last – if they had a driver capable of delivering a similar number of points.
Bottas now has commented on the matter, but was playing down any imminent departure as Wolff’s conversation with Briatore suggests might happen. Speaking to Viaplay this week the Mercedes reserve driver confirmed his talks with Alpine.
“Yes, you could say that,” he answered. “He [Flavio Briatore] first showed interest through Toto. A short stint somewhere, will that help me in any way? I don’t know. The focus is really on 2026 onwards. I believe that there will probably be more talk about next year than this year.
“The situation is that discussions have taken place. It’s just talk and discussions. I’ve learned, especially last year, that nothing is certain in this sport until the names are on paper. At the moment, we are exploring all the options.”
Red Bull staff “gutted” as Milton Keynes protests walkout discussed
Alpine yet have hopes for the season
With two weekends of no F1 racing ahead, this gives Alpine the time it needs to give Bottas a seat fitting at the factory. A short term deal for a handful of races, would be fairly simple to agree between the parties. Whilst Franco brings substantial South American financial backing to Alpine, it is dwarfed by the prize money on offer should the team improve its place in the constructors’ championship by a couple of places.
All hope is not lost for Alpine, even this season. They are now the highest points scoring F1 team to sit in tenth place since the revised scoring system was introduced in 2010. By giving Bottas a run to the end of the season, Alpine are almost certain break the duck they have with the second car at present. It would also serve to form a benchmark for Cadillac to see what their number one target is capable of after half season out of action.
Russell talks with Mercedes stall over key demand
George Russell has delivered for Mercedes since joining the team four seasons ago. He finished ahead of team mate Lewis Hamilton in the F1 drivers’ title race in two of their three years racing together. Now paired with rookie Kimi Antonelli, Russell is chalking up the majority of Mercedes points this season, with a race win and four other podium finishes.
The Mercedes’ team leader sits fourth in the drivers’ championship and is the highest placed driver this season without a contract for next year. Team boss Toto Wolff has been candid over the delay in handing his star driver a shiny new deal, stating in Austria the potential availability of Max Verstappen is holding matters up.
“I think when you look at the situation we have with Kimi and George, we have a perfect line-up that we very much enjoy and that we believe is the future,” Wolff explained to Sky Sports F1. “But, at the same time, there is a four-time world champion that needs to decide what he is going to do in the future, and that is just, as a team principal, you need to see where that is going.”…. READ MORE
With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
