Colapinto's Alpine team is struggling to find its way in Formula 1: without power, points, or CEO, and with the 'Godfather' Briatore in its sights.

Alpine is last in the Formula 1 Constructors' Championship. And they left the Canadian Grand Prix without points due to errors in the pit stop strategy for Franco Colapinto - who had started tenth - and without a CEO of the Renault Group , since that same day Luca de Meo announced his departure. Although it will not occur until July 15, speculation has already begun and not only involves his replacement in the position, but also what may happen to Flavio Briatore , who arrived as an advisor to the Italian businessman and in one of his first moves generated the landing of the Argentine driver in exchange for around 20 million dollars for a five-year session with Williams.

"What will become of Briatore and Alpine?" asks German specialist outlet auto motor sport , which claims that "Flavio Briatore's position is also in danger" . According to the German website , the change of CEO could affect him because, although "he acts as team principal and makes strategic decisions behind the scenes, he was officially hired as Luca de Meo's personal advisor on Formula 1 matters in mid-2024" . "Depending on who becomes the new CEO of Renault, Briatore could quickly lose his position" , says journalist Tobias Grüner in his article.

Before this present, and that decision to incorporate Colapinto as a reserve driver because the starters were confirmed before the Buenos Aires native's emergence in the Grand Circus, Briatore took another measure that hit the French working masses : he closed the Renault Sport engine division at the factory located in Viry-Chatillon and from 2026 Alpine will be powered by Mercedes, leaving its role as supplier to become a client team in Formula 1.

The way the news was communicated, according to insiders, wasn't the best; a former employee even spoke out on LinkedIn , accusing Luca de Meo of cowardice for not having informed them personally and instead using another official to do so. In an interview, the Italian explained: “The FIA's reward system only applies to chassis results, so when McLaren or Aston Martin win, they get the full financial compensation even if they use Mercedes-Benz engines. At Renault, we have to pay an additional €250 million for the engines (Editor's note: the annual cost of engines as a Mercedes customer will be €20 million) . I run a listed company, and I've been at it for a decade; I have to make rational decisions every day.”

In an attempt to break down what's happening at the French automaker, Autosport explains on its website that "when Luca de Meo took over as Renault CEO in mid-2020, the group had just posted losses of €7.3 billion and was on the brink of collapse " when the world came to a standstill due to the coronavirus pandemic. "On his way to a €4.26 billion operating profit in the latest set of annual results, de Meo kick-started what he dubbed a Renaulution , introducing exciting new models and revitalizing the moribund Alpine sub-brand. The question now is what will happen to the offspring of Renaulution when de Meo leaves the auto industry altogether to become CEO of Kering , the French luxury brands group that includes Gucci, among others," analyzes journalist Stuart Codling. And he anticipates that "in the corporate world, as in the African savannah, a lion that assumes leadership of a pride will kill the cubs of its predecessor ."

Beyond what is published in the international media, there is also what happens behind closed doors. And the one who was consulted on the matter was Pierre Gasly , Colapinto's teammate who arrived at Alpine in 2023 - after almost a decade at Red Bull - with the help of De Meo, who had also shown his support for Colapinto when he announced his incorporation with a "Come on, kid" . "I have always had a good relationship with Luca. He brought me into the team. He is a very inspiring person. So, of course, I am very sad that he is leaving us . But I am sure he had good reasons for taking this step," he responded after the race in Montreal.

According to the French driver, it's still too early to make predictions about the team's future: "Of course, not everything is going well for us right now, but a lot of positive things are happening at the factory. For me, it's important that we maintain this momentum until the 2026 season. The outlook and performance could be completely different then." However, he added: "I need to meet with team management first to better understand what this means for us."

Naturally, De Meo's resignation cast further doubt on the future of the Alpine F1 project, which is focused on 2026 , as was evident in the first ten races of the season, where the car was seen to be uncompetitive, mainly due to the lack of power from its Renault engine . "In Formula 1, stability is based on vision and execution. We have a plan. Luca supported it. His departure will not stop us," Briatore said in Canada.

Briatore's head is also in the spotlight for British outlet Autosport. "In addition to being a controversial figure in F1 due to his role in the 2008 Singapore GP race-fixing scandal, Briatore is not a full-time employee, but rather a contractor . His contract also reportedly entitles him to actively participate in commercial deals, an arrangement that has been heavily criticized by the French media," it says.

In a press release, the Board of Directors, convened by its chairman Jean-Dominique Senard, expressed its gratitude to Luca de Meo "for the change and transformation of the Renault Group" but did not mention a future replacement. It will have less than a month to decide. According to reports, Dacia's Denis Le Vot is the candidate for succession, but there is also talk of an approach to Stellantis' COO, Maxime Picat. Perhaps one of them will have to decide what will happen to Briatore, a man who arrived as an advisor and became the main figure of the F1 team after Oliver Oakes' resignation, just before Colapinto's debut at Imola.