Following on from his appointment as an Alpine reserve, Franco Colapinto’s manager has spoken about the negotiations with the Enstone squad.
The Argentinean driver will be an Alpine reserve in F1 2025, with Flavio Briatore having negotiated with Williams boss James Vowles to secure the services of the F1 2024 debutant on a five-year deal.
Colapinto’s electrifying start to life in Formula 1 saw him earn the attention of Red Bull and Alpine as potential vacancies were available for the Argentinean.
Having stepped into Logan Sargeant’s Williams after the Dutch Grand Prix, Colapinto showed tremendous speed from the outset as he scored points at the Azerbaijan and United States Grands Prix.
But a tough end to the season, marred by crashes in Brazil and Las Vegas, saw his star dim and Red Bull lose interest.
Alpine, however, remained in touch with Colapinto and his management team from Bullet Sports Management, Maria Catarineu and Jamie Campbell-Walter, and announced him on a multi-year deal as a reserve driver for F1 2025 last week.
Colapinto will thus be ready on the sidelines if Alpine needs a substitute or replacement for either Pierre Gasly or Jack Doohan. Doohan, the Australian rookie, has been the subject of speculation that his deal with Alpine will be under constant evaluation and that he faces pressure to perform immediately if he is to see out the season.
Speaking to Argentine publication Infobae, Catarineu opened up on how negotiations with Alpine played out – Catarineu having chosen not to engage with the media during the final weeks of the season as the rumour mill around Colapinto swirled.
With Colapinto being sought after by Briatore, she explained how the sides reached an agreement.
“It took a long time because negotiations are sometimes complex, as in this case. But Flavio was always very persistent and in the last few weeks he was very intense,” she said.
Colapinto is due to start work at the Enstone-based squad in the coming days, and he’ll be kept busy with a simulator role alongside a TPC (Testing of Previous Cars) programme, all while ready to step into a cockpit vacancy if one should arise.
“The agreement came about because both parties got what they wanted – Flavio was able to sign Franco and James was able to give him the chance to race, because at Williams their regular drivers are on long-term contracts,’ Catarineu said.
“Briatore has seen Franco since he made his F1 debut. The day we first chatted he said: ‘I’ve seen talent and I want him’. He followed all the races closely and how he evolved as an F1 driver in the nine Grands Prix he was able to race.”
Catarineu also explained that Briatore had always kept Colapinto in his sights and that “at all costs” wanted to have him onboard.
Briatore was also eager to come onboard as a manager for Colapinto, but Catarineu and Campbell-Walter were eager to stay as his representatives.
“It’s the best thing for everyone that Jamie and I are still in charge of Franco and more on a day-to-day basis. Obviously Flavio will be aware of everything that happens. This is teamwork,” she said.
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Alpine is set to be in charge of Colapinto’s contractual rights on a deal understood by PlanetF1.com to be for five years – with Catarineu saying the same during the interview.
“Williams gave Franco to Alpine for five years,” she explained.
However, the deal is not believed to be a loan basis, with the more likely situation being Williams having first dibs on a buyback of the Argentinean after the five-year deal.
“I understand that, if another team appears interested in Franco, within that period, I guess it would be a negotiation between Alpine and the other team”.
Colapinto’s increasingly substantial sponsorship backing only added to his attractiveness to Briatore, while the impact of his signing was felt immediately on Alpine’s social media channels as the follower count exploded from 2.6 to 4.1 million.
Briatore is said to be predicting a career of no less than 15 years in Formula 1, with Colapinto’s talent, ability, media interest, and a hugely lucrative sponsorship roster all playing a part in his interest. It’s for these reasons that Alpine has committed for such a lengthy contract – five years for a relatively unproven rookie suggests Briatore has tremendous faith in the abilities of Colapinto, and in Alpine’s ability to maximise his potential.
But it wasn’t all rosy, Catarineu revealed, saying that she and Campbell-Walter did have to fend off some online vitriol as it appeared Colapinto’s early promise may not result in an opportunity.
“Out of 10 messages, only one was attacking us and I know very well what we have done over the years to help Franco,” she said.
“I have taken the trouble to read all the messages, one by one. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of opening social networks and I was exposed to this kind of thing. But this is part of this story.
“It doesn’t matter, I know how much the Argentinians love us and a few people are not going to change that. I know that in Argentina the fans love us and we love them.”
“Today Franco feels an intense happiness, as we all do.”
The big question of F1 2025 is whether or not Colapinto will get a chance to race. His best chance appears to be if Doohan fails to hit the ground running for the Enstone-based team but, when posed with the questions of whether she believes her driver will get his chance, Catarineu was coy.
“I’m not going to say what I feel,” she said, smiling.
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2025-01-13T13:50:17Z