The Formula 1 world is buzzing after reports surfaced that Alpine is replacing rookie Jack Doohan with Franco Colapinto. Just six races into his F1 career, Doohan's seemingly promising start has come to an abrupt end, sparking controversy and debate.
Doohan, son of legendary motorcycle racer Mick Doohan, entered F1 with high hopes. However, his rookie season has been plagued by incidents. A first-lap crash in Australia, penalties in China, and another opening-lap collision in Miami have overshadowed flashes of speed. Meanwhile, Alpine's signing of Colapinto as reserve driver in January cast a shadow over Doohan's future, raising questions about a pre-ordained replacement.
The decision isn't solely based on Doohan's crashes. While his performance hasn't matched teammate Pierre Gasly's, Colapinto brings significant sponsorship from Argentina—a lucrative factor in Formula 1's business-driven environment. Damon Hill's tweet, "Looks like some drivers need better contracts!", succinctly highlights this aspect. Though Colapinto's track record isn't demonstrably superior, the financial implications are undeniable. Furthermore, Alpine's struggles as a team contribute to this decision. They're currently languishing in the lower midfield.
Many believe Alpine's move is premature. Doohan showed promising pace at times, and his Miami crash wasn't entirely his fault. This decision mirrors Red Bull's rapid swap of Liam Lawson earlier in the season. Alpine’s handling of the situation raises concerns about how they treat their academy drivers, potentially leaving a bitter taste and jeopardizing future talent development.
Doohan's F1 future is uncertain. Although reports suggest he may remain within the Alpine organization, securing a seat in the future will be a challenge. The situation highlights the cutthroat nature of F1, where performance and financial backing often outweigh loyalty and long-term development plans.
Jack Doohan's Alpine Formula 1 Team future is seriously in doubt after another premature race retirement at the Miami Grand Prix, with the team said to be considering a mid-season driver switch prior to the upcoming event at Imola. The Australian rookie's crash-and-bash season and failure to capitalize on opportunities have left Alpine's hierarchy questioning his role, particularly with reserve driver Franco Colapinto strongly lobbying for a race seat.
Doohan's season has included a crash in Australia, China time penalties, a big shunt at Japanese GP practice, and now the Miami collision. It's created a worrying picture of a rider who can't quite deliver a clean, fault-free race weekend. Interestingly, Jack Doohan is still one of four drivers without a 2025 point—Fernando Alonso, Liam Lawson, and Gabriel Bortoleto being the others.
The growing uncertainty over Jack Doohan has opened the door to speculation over Franco Colapinto's ascension. Contracted as Alpine's 2025 reserve and test driver, Franco Colapinto has good backing within the team, especially from executive advisor Flavio Briatore. The Argentine youngster impressed on a temporary stint with Williams last year, picking up points early in despite being inexperienced.
During a recent Argentine broadcast, YPF CEO Horacio Marin intimated Colapinto would compete in Imola, fueling feverish speculation. Marin subsequently explained he was speaking from a personal wish, but the remark further fueled ongoing speculation. Team management remains tight-lipped as the deadline approaches.
Alpine has stayed publicly coy. Team Principal Oliver Oakes kept the media out of his reach after the Miami Grand Prix and only made a guarded statement early in the weekend. "As it is today, Jack is our driver along with Pierre," Oakes added. "We always evaluate, but today, that is the case." Backstage, The Race describes internal discord—some on Alpine's top leadership wish to offer Jack Doohan more time, but others prefer to do the early swap prior to the European triple-header, which will open at Imola.
For his part, Doohan remains focused and optimistic. "It was obviously good to get my first qualifying in front of my teammate and feeling confident in the car," Doohan said of his Miami weekend. "These are the small little wins that we unfortunately have to take from this weekend – but we'll be carrying that into Imola. We have some sim work to do on the car and some sim work to do for the upcoming few races. It’s a good time to reset, although I feel like I haven't really even done much driving. So I will be just shifting the focus straight to what's to come." he said. Yet, whether he’ll get the chance to continue remains unclear.
Jack Doohan’s Formula 1 career appears to be over. In a move that would get even the ruthless hearts at Red Bull management racing, Alpine is poised to remove the Australian rookie from his seat after just seven grand prix starts. Franco Colapinto is set to take the wheel from the upcoming Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix next weekend.
It’s a remarkable way for Alpine to treat one of its academy drivers — the first ever promoted to one of its own seats — for which there are only two possible explanations. The first is that Doohan’s patchy weekend in Miami was the straw that broke the camel’s back. This argument is difficult to mount, however, given he outqualified Gasly for a grand prix for the first time at the weekend and given his first-corner exit from the race clearly wasn’t his fault.
The alternative theory is that Doohan was doomed from the start — that from the moment Colapinto and his pesos became available, the Argentine was always going to trump the Australian sooner rather than later. Because while it’s obviously true that the Queenslander was given seven rounds in total to prove himself, evidently the bar was set well above what could be expected for a perfectly reasonable rookie campaign.
There’s rarely smoke without fire in Formula 1, and Doohan’s seat at Alpine has been rumoured to be at risk since late last year. That’s despite signing his full-time contract as recently as August. The initial uncertainty was attributed to Alpine executive adviser Flavio Briatore’s ascension to power in a management reshuffle that saw Bruno Famin exit as team principal and Oliver Oakes installed in his place.
If Doohan’s crash record is to be used against him, Colapinto’s multimillion-dollar record of carnage must surely be considered too. He crashed twice in Brazil — in qualifying and the race — contributing to a repair bill that exceeded US$3 million. After the team worked heroically to repair his car in time to make the Las Vegas Grand Prix, he crashed again in qualifying, clipping an apex barrier in what could well be the definition of a rookie mistake.
Doohan has kept his chin up throughout this strange ordeal. Undoubtedly he will continue to do so, with a continuing role at Alpine rumoured. He’ll need to as well, with few seats out of contract next season. If Alpine does pull — or already has pulled — the trigger, Doohan’s Formula 1 prospects would be uncertain at best. And that would be a cruel end to a career that had barely had the chance to get started.
