Colapinto should start fearing the axe, 'Briatore called me today'

Colapinto binned it significantly so during the first part of qualifying at Silverstone, which prematurely ended his Saturday afternoon. Stuck in the gravel on the outside of Club corner, the Argentine talent managed to bring his car back onto the track, only to make evident that, in light of the severe vibrations of his rear wing, continuing on would not have been possible.

The young Argentine's crash comes at an inopportune time, as his seat is already under considerable pressure. GPblog had already reported earlier that Mercedes would not block a potential move of reserve driver Bottas if Alpine wanted to acquire him to replace Colapinto.

After the Silverstone qualifying, Viaplay asked Wolff if Briatore had already called him about Bottas's services. Wolff clearly responded: "A few times already, yeah."

Then, when asked if he had received a call from the Alpine executive that day, he said: "I saw him today about Valtteri also, yeah. So there seems to be quite an acceleration in the interest of Valtteri."

The Austrian continued: "I always said I'm never going to block Valtteri. He deserves to be in a race car, he's done so well. If he's being picked up by another team in a full race seat, we will let him go but with a teary eye."

Asked how much Wolff involves himself in Bottas's decision-making process, he said: "At the end, I give him advice as a friend but Valtteri and in the end they take the decisions where it's going and I try to keep in the back."