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Alpine confirm Colapinto to replace Doohan for next five rounds
Alpine chose to promote Franco Colapinto and bench Jack Doohan, with the Argentinian behind the wheel in Imola this weekend
Alpine have opted to change things up with their driver line-up after just six Grands Prix in 2025, with Jack Doohan sent to the bench and Franco Colapinto stepping up to race alongside Pierre Gasly for the next five races. F1 Correspondent Lawrence Barretto digs into the story...
On the Tuesday after the Miami Grand Prix weekend, Alpine announced that Oakes – who joined the Enstone-based operation in July 2024 – had resigned with immediate effect, and sparked a dramatic 12 hours for the team.
Then on the Wednesday morning, they revealed the more predictable news that Colapinto was stepping up to a race seat for this weekend's Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at Imola and at least the following four races, with Doohan demoted to reserve as part of an evaluation of their driver pool.
Doohan – who was embarking on his rookie campaign this year – has essentially had a target on his back ever since Alpine "entered into an agreement" with Williams in January to secure Colapinto's services on a multi-year deal that included him being reserve for 2025.
The Argentine driver had some high points during a nine-race stint replacing Logan Sargeant at Williams at the back end of last year, scoring points twice - and at his peak was linked with a move to the Red Bull family that would have included a start at Racing Bulls with the potential of a step up to Red Bull in the short term.
However his star began to fade with multiple low points, including crashing heavily three times to rack up a huge damage bill for the British team.
When speaking about why Williams had released Colapinto, whom they had signed on a long-term deal that would have seen him step back to reserve given Carlos Sainz had already been signed to partner Alex Albon, boss James Vowles explained it was effectively a loan because he wanted to find a way to get Colapinto a race seat as soon as possible while having the option to recall him in the future.
“Jack Doohan remains an integral part of the team and will be the first-choice Reserve Driver for this period of time.”
ALPINE TEAM STATEMENT
Amid the growing noise around the potential for a swap, Alpine tried to downplay the chances as they focused on giving Doohan the support to prove he should be their race driver for the foreseeable.
But while there have been flashes of speed – like in Bahrain where he was unlucky not to score – Doohan has ultimately failed to consistently deliver.
He remains point-less and also crashed heavily twice. The first came on the first lap in Australia and then, in Japanese Grand Prix practice, when he failed to close the DRS heading into the very fast Turn 1. Both incidents heaped the pressure on Doohan. To his credit, he remained resolute and kept his head down in a bid to turn his form around.
I am very proud to have achieved my lifelong ambition to be a professional Formula 1 driver and I will forever be grateful to the team for helping me achieve this dream. Obviously, this latest chapter is a tough one for me to take because, as a professional driver, naturally I want to be racing.
JACK DOOHAN
The Australian – son of motorcycling legend Mick Doohan – outqualified team mate Gasly for the first time last time out in Miami, but as has been the pattern this year, he couldn't build momentum and come race day, he collided with Liam Lawson into Turn 1 and ultimately retired.
Sources say discussions about swapping Doohan out had been going on heading into Miami but intensified as the weekend progressed.
Colapinto brings significant financial backing to Alpine and, according to sources, there is scope for that support to increase now he has been promoted to a race seat for five races starting next time out in Imola.
He also brings starpower as well as a huge, passionate and engaged fanbase, having starred for Williams and become a national hero in his home country of Argentina. His impact was such that he is considered the nation's current second biggest sporting star behind footballing legend Lionel Messi.
And while he did clock up a big damage bill for Williams towards the end of his stint, the 21-year-old also proved he was capable of scoring points and getting up to speed very quickly.
Collectively, that makes Colapinto a very attractive package for Alpine, who are locked in a very tight midfield fight and currently sit ninth in the Teams' Championship on seven points.
I want to thank the team for giving me the opportunity to drive competitively for the next five races. I will work hard with the team to prepare for the next race in Imola and the upcoming triple-header, which will no doubt be intense and a big challenge for everyone.
FRANCO COLAPINTO
As the team aren't fighting at the sharp end this is a great opportunity, as Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore admitted, to evaluate who is best to partner Gasly into the next rules cycle, which begins next year and marks a real opportunity for the team to make a big step up the pecking order.
And by making the move now, Colapinto can attempt to build a rhythm on three tracks he knows across the triple header of Imola, Monaco and Spain, having raced at them in F2. Canada will be new but the fifth at Austria's Red Bull Ring will also be familiar territory.
He proved in his defined nine-race stint at Williams that he is capable of hitting the ground running. Do that and he will be favourite to keep the seat ahead of the team's next evaluation of their line-up before the British Grand Prix in July. In many ways, it's a bit of a shoot-out between the two.
Regarding Oakes' resignation, it is the latest of a series of senior management changes that have blighted Alpine over the last two years.
The former boss of Hitech, which competes in the junior categories, was recruited by Briatore to replace Bruno Famin last summer.
That came after the departure of CEO Laurent Rossi, which triggered a domino effect, with Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer, Sporting Director Alan Permane, Chief Techical Officer Pat Fry, Technical Director Matt Harman, Head of Aerodynamics Dirk de Beer and Director of Racing Expansion Projects Davide Brivio all leaving.
It remains unclear why Oakes left the team, with Briatore now taking on full responsibility for the racing outfit.
