Overview

• Flavio Briatore has held very preliminary discussions with Mercedes about tapping reserve driver Valtteri Bottas as a potential midseason replacement for Franco Colapinto.
• Alpine remains bottom of the constructors’ standings with 11 points from 11 races, and Briatore has publicly urged Colapinto to step up his qualifying and race performances.
• Bottas, who left Sauber at the end of 2024 and now serves as Mercedes reserve, is openly seeking a full-time return and is also linked to a Cadillac F1 seat for 2026.
• To fulfill rookie FP1 requirements and evaluate its junior talent, Alpine has loaned Paul Aron to Sauber for first-practice runs at Silverstone and Budapest.
• Facing urgent performance pressure and a planned switch to Mercedes power units next season, Alpine is under scrutiny to stabilize its driver lineup before the summer break.