Jorge Peiro and other reports said Flavio Briatore pressed Alpine to replace Franco Colapinto with reserve Paul Aron ahead of the 2026 season, but Alpine instead renewed Colapinto’s seat in a deal finalized at the Mexico City Grand Prix last November. Reporters linked the renewal to Colapinto’s commercial connections in Latin America, pointing to special Mercado Libre liveries in Miami and Montreal, a visible Argentine presence at Imola and a Buenos Aires show run that drew 600,000 people. Commentators differ on the scale of that commercial pull; Nelson Valkenburg said Colapinto does not bring “that much money,” while Jennie Gow said Colapinto “brings so much money.”

On track, Colapinto produced a turnaround that strengthened his case to keep the seat. He delivered a career-best P7 at the Miami Grand Prix, calling it “my most perfect weekend,” and showed consistent pace from practice through the race. Team upgrades, including new parts, wings and a chassis, plus a concentrated factory effort and a switch to Mercedes-supplied engines, were credited with the improvement after a difficult start to the season. He had also scored points in Shanghai and recorded a second top-10 of the season in Miami.

Briatore praised the Miami performance, said Colapinto was proving doubters wrong and arranged extra track time for the driver, pointing to solid pit stops and strong teamwork with Pierre Gasly as factors. Alpine said it will review the new items ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix and assess why Gasly did not benefit from the upgrades to the same extent. Peiro noted Paul Aron’s credentials, including third in the 2024 FIA Formula 2 championship and three FP1 outings, as context for why some pushed for a change. Some reports said Colapinto failed to score a point before the end of the year, while other coverage records his points in Shanghai and the career-best in Miami. Alpine sits fifth in the constructors’ standings and faces pressure to translate Colapinto’s improved form into consistent results as the team finalizes its plans for 2026.