Franco Colapinto has been dealt a crushing warning by former F1 driver Martin Brundle, that Alpine executive advisor Flavio Briatore views drivers as a "disposable item".
The warning follows what has been a disastrous period for the Argentinian since he replaced Jack Doohan ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Colapinto has the worst average qualifying result on the grid, and is the only active F1 driver yet to score a point.
He has struggled for outright pace and has often been comfortably adrift of Pierre Gasly, whilst several mistakes have also been made.
On his return to F1 in Imola, Colapinto crashed in qualifying, whilst he also crashed in qualifying at Silverstone – he failed to start the British Grand Prix.
Perhaps his biggest setback came last Wednesday at the Hungaroring, where he suffered a big accident during a Pirelli tyre test, resulting in visit to the medical centre.
Despite his struggles, the 22-year-old remains in the second Alpine seat, and is expected to remain in the cockpit for the Dutch Grand Prix after the summer break.
Brundle has not been impressed by the Alpine driver's performances, and warned him that he is in a bad position heading into 2026 and the new regulations.
"Colapinto, well, he's still in it, isn't he?" Brundle said on Sky F1 in Hungary. "You hear different stories about his sponsorship, arriving, not arriving.
"He's certainly not doing a particularly good job. He looked really spectacular in the early days of Williams, didn't he? But then he crashed a lot at Williams after that.
"So it doesn't bode [well]. I think 2026, definitely doesn't bode particularly well. But the trouble is with Flavio, as I know well, you're a disposable item as a racing driver, generally speaking.
"That's sort of been his MO through the years, because this is a competitive business, not finishing school, something I've said many times before. If you don't deliver, you'll be like a light bulb, they'll take you out and put another bulb in."
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