Valtteri Bottas has emerged as the leading candidate for a surprise switch to Alpine later this year should the Formula 1 team decide it wants to replace Franco Colapinto.
The Race has learned that Alpine's executive advisor Flavio Briatore, who is currently its de facto team principal, has approached Mercedes to discuss the potential availability of its reserve driver.
While it is understood that discussions between Alpine and Mercedes over Bottas have been very preliminary, and have not advanced towards a deal definitely happening, they do suggest that Briatore is considering his driver options amid Alpine's ongoing struggles.
Bottas, who was dropped by Sauber at the end of last year, has made no secret of the fact he wants to get back into a full-time F1 race seat.
While it was previously thought that the all-new Cadillac operation was his best hope, as talks between the Bottas camp and F1's incoming team have already begun, the possibility of jumping into an Alpine seat could offer Bottas another F1 lifeline - both for later this year and into 2026.
Sources suggest Mercedes would have no problem in letting Bottas take on an F1 return with Alpine, especially as it will become a Mercedes customer team from the start of next year.
The fight to avoid finishing last
Alpine is currently pegged to the bottom of the constructors' championship with just 11 points from 11 weekends so far this season.
And its nearest rival Sauber is on the best run of form of any midfield team over the last three races, and now has a tally of 26 points after both its cars finished in the top 10 at the Austrian Grand Prix - so it is clear Briatore wants a very quick turnaround at Alpine.
Lead driver Pierre Gasly, who has a contract into next year and the new F1 rules cycle, has scored all the team's points so far this year - with team-mates Jack Doohan and Colapinto having failed to get into the top 10 at all.
Colapinto was drafted in as Doohan's replacement from the Emilia Romagna GP at Imola in mid-May in a bid to help lift the second car's competitiveness, but his best result so far has been 13th, where he finished in Monaco and Canada.
The 22-year-old is currently on a race-by-race contract, but it became clear in Austria last weekend that Briatore wants to see more from Colapinto if he is to extend his stay for the long term.
After Colapinto failed to make it through to Q3 at the Red Bull Ring last weekend, Briatore made it clear that both driver and team have to improve.
"Clearly the car was good enough for Q3, but we are still lacking having two cars up where they should be," said Briatore in Alpine's press release.
"Franco was through Q1 but too far away to reach Q3, which we need to improve if we are to put ourselves in a more competitive position with both cars."
After a disappointing Austrian GP - in which Gasly ran sixth initially but fell down the order to finish 13th, with Colapinto two places back after a scruffy race that included being hit by Yuki Tsunoda and also forcing Oscar Piastri off track - Briatore again made reference to the team not doing as good a job as it should have.
"Frankly, this level of performance is increasingly concerning," he said.
"While yesterday the car was quick and should have been well inside Q3 with two cars, Sundays are a very different story for us and it is important we understand why this is, especially if we want to turn this season around from this difficult position."
Benchmarking the package
One of the issues that Briatore is currently weighing up is whether picking an experienced driver such as Bottas, a 10-time grand prix winner, would help him and Alpine better judge where its car stacks up compared to a youngster.
Briatore's focus is on putting in place the right foundations for a successful 2026 campaign, and having someone such as Bottas on board would make perfect sense for giving the team answers about the strengths and weaknesses of its package.
Colapinto is under no illusions that Briatore is putting him under pressure to improve his performances, but he said steps forward have to come from the car as well.
"As a team - and I am on the team - [the thing] is focusing as well on improving the car," he said after Austria.
"We looked a bit weak and we just need to do some steps forward. The car has been a bit tricky for me to drive at the moment. It's not very consistent.
"It's quick, but that [the way it reacts] just didn't give me that confidence that I needed to go in the high-speed areas.
"It was a tough weekend, overall we did some steps forward, but it just felt like something didn't click."
Asked if he was worried that Briatore might decide to make a driver change soon, Colapinto said: "No, I'm not really concerned. I think he has been very supportive and he trusts me."
