Briatore on Gasly’s teammate at Alpine in 2026: 'Maybe it will be him'

On Saturday, the Enstone-based team announced that Gasly will remain with them until 2028, securing one of the two seats for the long term.

From next year, Alpine will be expected to make a step forward with the new Mercedes engines, after struggling over the past four seasons to produce cars capable of consistently fighting at the sharp end of the grid.

Gasly can still point to several highlights from his four years at Enstone so far, including his podium at Zandvoort in 2023 and the double podium he shared in Brazil last year with Esteban Ocon, who has since moved on to Haas.

With one seat already secured, the question now is: who will line up alongside Gasly in 2026, the year the new technical regulations come into play?

A few months ago, GPblog reported that Franco Colapinto didn’t yet have to fear for his seat despite a run of negative results, though he would need to raise his game to remain among the candidates to partner the Frenchman next year.

Asked by Sky Sports whether Alpine has already made a decision on its second driver, Flavio Briatore replied: “No, not yet.''

He then added: “Maybe it will be Franco, we will see. We have another four or five races to judge and then we will see. In November we need to make a decision."  

Last Friday, Briatore had praised Colapinto for his strong performance at Zandvoort the previous week, describing it as “the strongest of the season.”