Franco Colapinto replaces Jack Doohan at Alpine
The Argentine will take part in the next five races
It's been just over a month since Red Bull made the shock decision to drop Liam Lawson and recruit Yuki Tsunoda, and now Alpine have followed suit with their own early season switch.
This time, it’s Jack Doohan who is the unlucky recipient, as the rookie departs the big leagues after just six races. The Aussie driver - the son of five-time MotoGP champion Mick Doohan - will be replaced at Alpine by Franco Colapinto, who had been operating as a reserve driver for the team this season. The Argentine could be considered a relative rookie himself, having only competed in nine races for Williams at the end of 2024.
Colapinto impressed during his nine race stint last season, securing five championship points in the process. However, despite displaying clear talent, his time as Logan Sargeant’s replacement also featured several high profile and costly crashes. Ultimately, it proved to be too late to secure a drive for the 2025 season, and the 21 year old was forced to settle for a reserve spot at Alpine. Now, he has five races to prove himself worthy of being Pierre Gasly’s teammate, starting with the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at Imola on 16-18 May. The Enstone-based team will then look to evaluate the situation before the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on 4-6 July.
Franco Colapinto: “I have stayed sharp, and I am as ready as possible with the team’s race support testing programme, as well as on the simulator at Enstone. I will do my best to get up to speed quickly and give it my all to deliver the best possible results alongside Pierre.”
Flavio Briatore, Executive Advisor at Alpine: “Having reviewed the opening races of the season, we have come to the decision to put Franco in the car alongside Pierre for the next five races. With the field being so closely matched this year, and with a competitive car, which the team has drastically improved in the past 12 months, we are in a position where we see the need to rotate our line-up. We also know the 2026 season will be an important one for the team and having a complete and fair assessment of the drivers this season is the right thing to do in order to maximise our ambitions next year.
We continue to support Jack at the team, as he has acted in a very professional manner in his role as a race driver so far this season. The next five races will give us an opportunity to try something different and after this time period we will assess our options.”
Doohan becomes Alpine reserve driver
Doohan will now drop into Colapinto’s former first choice reserve role and look to rebuild his F1 career following a baptism of fire in the sport.
Jack Doohan: “I am very proud to have achieved my lifelong ambition to be a professional Formula One 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. That said, I appreciate the team’s trust and commitment. We have long-term goals as a team to achieve and I will continue to give my maximum efforts in any way I can to help achieve those. For now, I will keep my head down, keep working hard, watch with interest the next five races and keep chasing my own personal goals.”
Alpine have also added Estonian driver Paul Aron to their team as a reserve driver. The 21 year old competed in Formula 2 for Hitech in 2024, where he finished third.
The driver switch also comes just hours after the resignation of team principal Oliver Oakes. Executive adviser Briatore, whose F1 career began in 1985 with Bennetton, will now step into the role.
words: Mike Booth
pictures: Williams & Alpine