Alpine were one of the few teams that failed to score points in Zandvoort, unable to take advantage of the opportunities that presented themselves.
Gasly was within touching distance of the top 10 at various stages, even running in the points after the final Safety Car.
Worn tyres meant the Frenchman eventually plummeted down the order, while teammate Colapinto narrowly missed out.
The Argentine showed strong pace, although it ultimately wasn’t enough to take his first points at Alpine.
Despite a frustrating result for the team, Flavio Briatore is pleased with Colapinto’s progress.
Colapinto impressed Briatore in Zandvoort
There are multiple drivers under pressure in the second half of the season, with strong performances necessary to keep their seats for 2026.
Colapinto is among them, still searching for a contract extension to cement his place at Alpine.
Of course, Alpine went through great lengths to sign the 22-year-old from Williams in January – paying a significant fee to acquire his services.
Alongside their abrupt removal of Jack Doohan, this would suggest the Enstone team saw Colapinto as an asset for the future.
However, in his first press conference after the summer break, Flavio Briatore gave no assurances about Colapinto’s future.
The 75-year-old admitted that he potentially put excessive pressure on the youngster’s shoulders.
Considering the expectations on Colapinto since returning to the grid, this is a reasonable admission.
Despite this, Briatore also outlined that Alpine haven’t made any decisions on their second seat regarding 2026.
In this context, it was important for the Argentine to put together a strong race in Zandvoort.
Colapinto met this criteria, finishing within a second of the top-10 and showing good race pace once more.
Briatore acknowledged this in his post-race comments, praising the #43 driver for his weekend:
“It is a race where, looking at the leader board, it feels like a missed opportunity to score points as a team for varying reasons.
“Starting from outside the points, we took some risks throughout to try and maximise our chances to score.
“With Franco, he drove a very good race, probably his strongest this season so far.
“With Pierre, with the tools he had, it was a challenge for him to hold off cars with fresher tyres…
“We will keep trying at each race to maximise our end result with the package we have.”
A difficult road until the end of the season
As Briatore mentioned, it was frustrating for Alpine to see virtually every other midfield teams score points.
Even before the Dutch GP, Alpine’s chances of finishing any higher than 10th in the standings were relatively slim.
Haas, currently 9th, taking double-points in Zandvoort has only worsened the French outfit’s predicament.
The American team are 24 points ahead of Briatore’s squad – a significant advantage given that Alpine have only scored 20 points in 2025 so far.
To be clear, Alpine showed better pace in The Netherlands than in previous Grand Prix.
Assuming there are a few more unpredictable races, it is plausible that Colapinto and Gasly can secure some top 10 results before the team ends.
Still, the main focus at Alpine will concern their second seat – and who earns it for the 2026 season.
For the time being, there is no clear alternative to Colapinto, which puts the 22-year-old in a relatively strong position.
If he can string together a series of clean weekends, his chances of staying in Formula 1 will increase.
Any mistakes, however, will inevitably put the pressure back on the youngster as Briatore decides his future.
Main photo: Photo by James Sutton/Getty Images (Alpine media gallery)
