Could this ‘perfect’ driver be the secret weapon Flavio Briatore trusts to fill Franco Colapinto’s shoes at Alpine? Uncover the mystery behind the leading candidate now.
Alpine are currently languishing at the bottom of the constructors’ championship after the Austrian Grand Prix.
When Max Verstappen was taken out by Andrea Kimi Antonelli and both Williams drivers retired from the race, suddenly the Austrian Grand Prix became the perfect opportunity for midfield teams to score a hatful of points.
Liam Lawson and Gabriel Bortoleto secured sixth and eighth to confirm their best-ever results in Formula 1.
Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Ocon sneaked into the points, while Fernando Alonso continued his recent patch of strong form by coming home in seventh.
It meant that only Red Bull, Williams and Alpine failed to add to their tallies in the constructors’ championship in Austria.
Alpine don’t have a team principal right now, with Flavio Briatore taking over leadership duties.
The veteran Italian is known for being ruthless, and while Pierre Gasly has a contract for 2026, his newest teammate, Franco Colapinto, is in a far more precarious position.
Fans were upset with Colapinto’s driving in Austria as he nearly ended Oscar Piastri’s race while he was being lapped.
Now, it appears after just five races, Briatore is exploring his options in the Formula 1 driver market once again.
Photo by Robert Szaniszlo/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Valtteri Bottas emerges as Alpine’s ‘leading candidate’ to replace Franco Colapinto
A report from The Race has shared more details about Alpine’s driver conundrum.
They report that Mercedes reserve driver Valtteri Bottas has emerged as the ‘leading candidate’ to replace Colapinto if Briatore decides the team need to change their driver line-up again this season.
Briatore has already approached Mercedes about Bottas’ availability, and it’s expected that Toto Wolff will have ‘no problem’ allowing the 10-time race winner to leave if a full-time race seat becomes available.
The Race believe that no deal is close yet, Briatore is evaluating his options, and Bottas is very keen to return to action as quickly as possible.
Bottas is on Cadillac’s radar, and it would be a blow to Formula 1’s 11th team if one of their leading candidates for a seat next year is taken off the market.
The Finnish driver would likely want guarantees that he would be on the grid in 2026 if he did join Alpine; however, their imminent engine deal with Mercedes is unlikely to harm negotiations between the two parties.
Photo by Mark Sutton – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images
James Vowles describes Valtteri Bottas as the ‘perfect’ Formula 1 driver
Current Williams team principal James Vowles used to work with Bottas during their time together at Mercedes.
Vowles, who at the time was a director at Mercedes, said about Bottas on his way to finishing second at the 2019 Russian Grand Prix: “Valtteri didn’t make a single mistake. He didn’t lock a brake going into Turn 2, he defended in every corner as he needed to.
“He was continuously going up and down on the energy systems in order to maximise his speed down into Turn 2, and he did it perfectly.
“Leclerc backed off several times just to cool the tyres down and have another opportunity, build his battery back up and attack again, and every time he did, Valtteri responded with the same switches on his side, dog fighting his way to the end of the race and did a perfect job.”
Bottas’ Formula 1 record speaks for itself, having started nearly 250 Grand Prix and finished on the podium on 67 occasions in that time.
Alpine would be a similar challenge to his time at Sauber, something he didn’t initially seem keen to repeat.
However, the introduction of new regulations next season and Mercedes’ power units will give the Finn hope that they can climb off the bottom of the constructors’ championship sooner rather than later.
