Alpine team leader Flavio Briatore has contradicted his own squad’s announcement that Franco Colapinto had been promoted to a race seat for the next five Formula 1 rounds from this weekend’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.

Flavio Briatore has contradicted Alpine’s announcement that Franco Colapinto is on a five-race deal after replacing Jack Doohan for this weekend's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. After the Miami Grand Prix, Alpine announced Colapinto would take Doohan’s seat for the next five races.

The contradiction is jarring: a written team statement outlining a fixed plan, and a team boss casually brushing that aside within nine days. For a team in flux and languishing near the back of the grid, the inconsistency hardly inspires confidence in its management direction.