Briatore contradicts Bottas: Alpine rumour tipped him to Cadillac

"I never talked to Bottas about 2026," Briatore told Auto Motor und Sport. "I think the rumours that he could drive for Alpine helped him sign a contract with Cadillac."

However, in the wake of qualifying for the British Grand Prix, Mercedes team principal and CEO Toto Wolff claimed the Italian had reached out ot him to discuss the possibility of Bottas taking over from Franco Colapinto.

Sergio Perez was also briefly linked to a seat at the Enstone-based outfit, but Briatore dismissed the potential collaboration at the time in light of the Mexican driver's revelation that he and Cadillac F1 were close to an agreement.

"He asked me what our plans were, but at the same time told me that he was close to reaching an agreement with Cadillac. I couldn't offer him anything at the time," the 75-year-old said.

Although, Colapinto endured a tough start to his tenure at Alpine, Briatore sees the progress the young Argentine is making.

Pierre Gasly put pen to paper and signed a contract renewal with Alpine that sees his stay at the French team expand until 2028, a decision both team and driver are pleased with.

However, the second cockpit is still tentatively up for grabs, GPblog understands, as F2 graduates Paul Aaron and Jack Doohan seem to be in the fray to take over Colapinto's drive, whom, nevertheless, remains the team's top candidate.