Briatore 'patient' with Colapinto after horror Imola

May 19 (GMM) Flavio Briatore says he will be “patient” with Franco Colapinto following a baptism of fire for the Argentine driver at Imola.

Fervently supported by his Argentine fans and heavily sponsored by the country’s corporate world, the 21-year-old replaced Jack Doohan at Imola after the team said Colapinto was guaranteed only the next five races.

“No, no,” 75-year-old Briatore, the acting team boss at Alpine who secured Colapinto on loan from Williams over the winter, when asked about the five-race claim.

“Forget about five races. I decide,” he added.

That’s good news for Colapinto, because the first race at Imola did not go well. A rookie error cost him a grid penalty, he enraged fellow drivers with blocking moves, and he had a huge crash in qualifying.

He then started and finished P16 on Sunday – even though Kimi Antonelli and Esteban Ocon both retired.

Speaking with the Spanish press afterwards, he looked on the bright side. “With each lap I drove, I felt more comfortable with the car and closer to (Pierre) Gasly, who is the benchmark in the team.”

Colapinto insists his confidence is intact after the horror weekend.

“I’m going to be confident there,” he said when asked about the forthcoming Monaco GP. “But I’ll have to take it easy and go little by little.

“The goal here was to finish the race. Scoring points from where we started was difficult, but we did everything possible.”

As for Briatore, the notorious but highly-successful Italian dropped Doohan after just six races, so presumably more of the same for Colapinto will also be bad news.

However, Briatore told Viaplay: “This was his first race (for Alpine) and he was in a difficult situation because of his accident.

“We will see,” he added. “We have to be patient because he is a young guy with a lot of potential.”

Doohan, however, will be watching from the reserve bench with interest, as will another driver with links to Alpine – the marque’s world endurance championship driver, Mick Schumacher.

“Mick has more experience than Colapinto,” former F1 driver Timo Glock told Sky Deutschland.

Another tick in the box for young Schumacher is the obvious link between Briatore and the 26-year-old driver’s father – Briatore’s first F1 champion, Michael Schumacher.

“He would definitely be a candidate if Colapinto doesn’t deliver,” said Glock. “In the WEC, Mick is always the fastest of the three drivers in that car, an Alpine. So he’s definitely an option.”