Briatore slams Colapinto before FP2: “Maybe needed another year” | OneFootball

Although Franco Colapinto's start at the Dutch Grand Prix was very good, the statements from Flavio Briatore, head of Alpine, surprised everyone, especially because of how harsh his words were. The Italian acknowledged that they might have placed too much pressure on the Argentine driver, yet he also expressed dissatisfaction with his performances so far.

"We replaced (Jack) Doohan with Franco and maybe he has the same problem of too much pressure being in Formula 1. Perhaps we put too much pressure on him. Sometimes we need to consider that the driver is a human being and we have to understand exactly what's going through these young guys' minds," the Italian analyzed during a press conference alongside James Vowles (Williams) and Toto Wolff (Mercedes). He even seemed to align with Colapinto's main criticism of the car: "I think it's very difficult for a driver to deal with this car."

Up to that point, Il Padrino's words seem mild. However, when delving deeper into the issue, he made it clear that he is not satisfied with the level demonstrated by the driver from Pilar so far: "Maybe it wasn't the right time to have him in F1, maybe he needed another year. I'm not happy if you look at the results and that's what's important. He tries very hard. We try very hard with the engineering team to please him in everything, but it's really not what I expect from Colapinto."

Briatore is known for his high standards, but until now he had never been so blunt about Colapinto's level, a driver he strongly backed at the start of the season when he brought him from Williams. Nonetheless, it's also true that the Italian makes a certain mea culpa, but seems to place a lot of responsibility on the driver and not on the errors and constant internal fluctuations that Alpine as a team presents. Thus, the executive said little about the constant changes within the team's structure, the internal struggles at the start of the season, the poor performance of the car—which even affects Pierre Gasly, their other driver—and even the errors in pit stops and car setup.

Vowles, Colapinto's former boss at Williams, listened attentively to the Italian's words and defended the Argentine, a driver he always personally esteemed highly. The Briton explained his perspective and compared it to Colapinto's time at Williams, when the pressures were not the same.

"When the pressure isn't there, you can get much more out of the driver, because they're not worried about immediate performance impact. A good example was the first time I put Franco in Silverstone (FP2 of 2024). He thought it was his only chance to be there and my message beforehand was: 'It's not about lap times, it's about relaxing and enjoying the moment because it might not happen again.' And he delivered an outstanding performance," he assured.

Similarly, Vowles pointed out that the competition today is much stronger, stating that "three tenths separate the entire grid" and that "a small mistake" leaves you last.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.