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Another uncertainty surrounding the 2027 Formula 1 grid has been cleared up this week, with confirmation that Franco Colapinto will stay with the Alpine team for one more season. With Pierre Gasly already tied down on a long-term deal, that means the team will continue with the driver pairing it has had in place since May 2025, after Jack Doohan was dropped.

The Colapinto announcement follows recent confirmations that Max Verstappen will remain at Red Bull until 2030, and that Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz will continue as Williams team-mates next year. All of that suggests the coming weeks could bring a fairly subdued silly season, with most teams expected to stick with unchanged line-ups.

The only real question among the top four teams is the second seat at Red Bull, although Isack Hadjar has done more than enough to make a strong case for another year alongside Verstappen. Within the Red Bull set-up, there is growing support for Formula 2 championship leader Nikola Tsolov, and the Bulgarian would be a sensible option for Racing Bulls. It would be difficult to justify dropping either Arvid Lindblad or Liam Lawson, with the latter having further strengthened his case through his outing for RBR at Zandvoort. Even so, Tsolov was handed his first Formula 1 run by the team in an older Honda-powered car at Imola on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso has still not been officially confirmed at Aston Martin, with the Spaniard making it clear that the decision on whether he continues in or leaves Formula 1 will be his. The car’s form has been improving, and all signs suggest that he will stay, with discussions under way with owner Lawrence Stroll over contract arrangements.

Haas has not yet confirmed its full line-up, and there are still doubts over whether Esteban Ocon will remain, but the Frenchman has shown much stronger form recently after spending much of the season dealing with a difficult car. Leonardo Fornaroli and Rafael Camara, junior drivers linked to McLaren and Ferrari respectively, are the leading candidates for a Haas seat. No changes are currently expected at either Audi or Cadillac.

Colapinto had always been the favourite to keep his seat. However, nothing is ever entirely certain when Alpine chief Flavio Briatore is involved, and a few months ago there were even suggestions that Alonso could leave Aston Martin and return to the team with which he began his career. Still, retaining Colapinto was the logical move: the Argentine driver has delivered a stronger 2026 season, with more consistent performances alongside Gasly and fewer expensive mistakes, while also bringing significant commercial backing. It also suggests that Briatore did not have a better alternative available; while reserve driver Paul Aron has impressed in his FP1 appearances with both Alpine and Audi, there appears to be little real momentum behind the Estonian.

“For me, having consistency is very important,” said Briatore. “We are now settled from a driver point of view—and I have said many times that, while this is an important piece of the puzzle, the most significant thing we have to get right is designing and building a fast race car, which absolutely remains our number one priority.”

“We have seen Franco really grow and mature into a great driver this year,” he added. “His results in Miami and Montreal especially confirmed what I already knew—Franco belongs in F1, and he belongs at this team. I expect both Franco and Pierre to continue doing a fantastic job on track, and for the entire team to keep pushing relentlessly until we are fighting, and winning, at the front of this sport.”