{"id":29304,"date":"2025-01-06T13:33:20","date_gmt":"2025-01-06T18:33:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=29304"},"modified":"2025-01-06T13:43:11","modified_gmt":"2025-01-06T18:43:11","slug":"briatore-confirms-colapinto-talks-after-doohan-contract-was-signed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/01\/06\/briatore-confirms-colapinto-talks-after-doohan-contract-was-signed\/","title":{"rendered":"Briatore confirms Colapinto talks after Doohan contract was signed"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>For the majority of 2024, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/01\/06\/f1-news-alpine-target-championship-contention-by-2027\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Alpine<\/a> were at the centre of an intense and ever-evolving transfer market. Even after confirming that Jack Doohan would complete their 2025 line-up, speculation emerged that Alpine were in talks with Franco Colapinto. Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore has addressed this.<\/p>\n<h2>Alpine confirm Franco Colapinto negotiations<\/h2>\n<p>During the final weeks of last year&#8217;s campaign, LWOS reported extensively on <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2024\/11\/30\/franco-colapinto-alpine-still-in-negotiations-with-the-argentine\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Alpine&#8217;s interest in Franco Colapinto<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The French outfit&#8217;s enthusiasm for Colapinto was at its height following the US GP, where the Argentine secured a second points finish for Williams.<\/p>\n<p>At the time, Jack Doohan had already been announced for the 2025 season.<\/p>\n<p>However, when Alpine signed Doohan, Colapinto was still racing in Formula 2 &#8211; and therefore not on the team&#8217;s radar.<\/p>\n<p>This obviously changed as the year progressed, though, with Flavio Briatore seeing Colapinto as an attractive option for the team to pursue.<\/p>\n<p>Owing to Doohan&#8217;s confirmed contract with Alpine, there was some scepticism about the reports suggesting a last-minute change to their line-up was on the cards.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking after last season&#8217;s conclusion, Flavio Briatore responded candidly when asked if he ever negotiated with Colapinto:<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;Yes, that&#8217;s true,&#8221;<\/em> he is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sport.de\/news\/ne7376393\/formel-1-flavio-briatore-bestaetigt-heisse-alpine-geruechte\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">quoted as telling Sport Bild<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;I am always looking for the best options for us. [Gasly] did a great job last season, and we are starting the new season with him and Jack.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;But who knows what will happen. With Paul Aron we also have a strong reserve driver under contract,&#8221;<\/em> Briatore added.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"0BCxu5EmRHdaFvammUE-8g\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/2189464652\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'0BCxu5EmRHdaFvammUE-8g',sig:'28tusgwQ3XOPPYYBpj7Wpdc2Z0LP7ojUhKiSidfDJik=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'2189464652',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<h4>Will Alpine explore Colapinto route again?<\/h4>\n<p>It is unclear to how close Franco Colapinto was to securing an Alpine seat.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps the biggest obstacle that prevented a deal was his existing contract with Williams. The financial sum required to sign him away from <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/01\/06\/williams-jenson-button-reveals-key-changes-behind-the-scenes\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">James Vowles&#8217; team<\/a>, unsurprisingly, was not an insignificant amount.<\/p>\n<p>Considering the results and sponsors that Colapinto brought to the team in such a short time span, Williams obviously value the 21-year-old highly.<\/p>\n<p>Because of this, it is understood the Grove-based outfit&#8217;s asking price was too high for Briatore.<\/p>\n<p>Another factor that likely hurt the Williams driver&#8217;s chances was his late-season incidents.<\/p>\n<p>For all the praise he received after scoring points in Baku and COTA, his subsequent crashes were costly. Not just for the team, but for Colapinto&#8217;s market value as well.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"G9xDLbXbQAxGO1uFtcX-zw\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/2188302567\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'G9xDLbXbQAxGO1uFtcX-zw',sig:'4H46yt5ls-cstWID9DGMOhW6wTBqvzbuK76tdwKTaic=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'2188302567',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<p><strong>READ MORE:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/01\/06\/f1-news-alpine-target-championship-contention-by-2027\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Alpine target Championship contention by 2027<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The timing of the Argentine&#8217;s incidents came at the worst possible time. Although Briatore was spotted talking with Colapinto as late as the Qatar GP, it is understood that a deal became increasingly out of reach.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, the situation will change this season. Colapinto will be actively searching for an F1 seat. Crucially, his Williams contract is unlikely to complicate negotiations ahead of 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Briatore has spoken openly about demanding the best from his driver pairings &#8211; meaning rookie <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2024\/12\/28\/jack-doohan-must-brace-for-instant-pressure-at-alpine\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Jack Doohan won&#8217;t have the luxury of breathing room<\/a> in the opening few rounds.<\/p>\n<p>Making predictions for how Alpine will operate in F1&#8217;s &#8216;silly season&#8217; is always difficult.<\/p>\n<p>With that said, if any team is going to make bold moves, it&#8217;s the one <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2024\/12\/16\/franco-colapinto-briatore-leaves-door-open-for-2026-alpine-move\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">under Flavio Briatore&#8217;s leadership<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For the majority of 2024, Alpine were at the centre of an intense and ever-evolving transfer market. Even after confirming that Jack Doohan would complete their 2025 line-up, speculation emerged that Alpine were in talks with Franco Colapinto. Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore has addressed this. Alpine confirm Franco Colapinto negotiations During the final weeks of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4927,"featured_media":27410,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[1567,2452,465],"class_list":["post-29304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-formula-1","category-news","tag-alpine","tag-f1-2025-season","tag-f1-news"],"modified_by":"Jaden Diaz-Ndisang","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4927"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29304"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29304\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29366,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29304\/revisions\/29366"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}