Briatore closes the door on Tsunoda at Alpine.

      "I don’t see any other possibility," Flavio Briatore stated, effectively closing the door on Yuki Tsunoda and other external candidates for Alpine’s second seat in 2026. The Italian mentioned that the decision now lies between current driver Colapinto and reserve driver Paul Aron.

      "It’s between Franco and Paul. Paul is a really nice guy and a very quick driver. I need to determine what is best for the team, you know?" Briatore emphasized.

      Tsunoda's chances of reviving his Formula 1 career away from Red Bull seem to be fading, as Briatore clearly expressed that he is "not interested in anyone" else. "In the past, I was overwhelmed because I managed 50 percent of the drivers on the grid. Now, I don’t manage anyone. I don’t care. I'm not interested," the 75-year-old remarked.

      "My sole focus is to find the best available driver and to ensure we do the best job possible. It's as straightforward as that."

      Briatore noted that true talents have always been apparent, but he doesn't observe that level of skill in the current junior series. "I remember when Schumi was competing in Group C with Sauber, he was winning every race," he recalled.

      "GP2 was similar—Hamilton was consistently on the podium. Fernando was racing in a Formula 3 car and winning every time. I recall testing him at Minardi, and Giancarlo (Minardi) told me, ‘I’ve never seen anything like this.’"

      As for the others, he questioned their consistency: "Have you watched the F2 and F3 races? You see a driver win a race, then in the next one, he finishes 14th, then 3rd, then back to 12th."

      For Tsunoda, the future appears grim without the backing of Red Bull. "It's not my role to engage with other teams or anything like that," the Japanese driver stated while in Baku. "My responsibility is to drive quickly and secure the right results."