Driver changes at Alpine: Franco Colapinto replaces Jack Doohan

Spring cleaning is underway at Alpine. The day after the announcement of the departure of its team principal, Oliver Oakes, the French team confirmed on Wednesday, May 7, what the entire paddock had suspected: Argentinian Franco Colapinto will replace Australian driver Jack Doohan as second driver. The information was revealed on Monday by the website The Race . Two decisions were made by Italian Flavio Briatore, Alpine's executive advisor, who is now the sole master on board.

Unlike his teammate Pierre Gasly, who has seven points so far this season, Jack Doohan has not scored any. The Enstone team sits ninth (out of ten) in the constructors' standings after six races.

"After reviewing the first races of the season, we have come to the decision to put Franco in the car alongside Pierre for the next five races. (…) The next five races will give us the opportunity to try something different and after this period we will evaluate our options," explains Flavio Briatore in a statement.

"I would like to thank the team for giving me the opportunity to drive competitively for the next five races. (…) I will do my best to give the best of myself in order to achieve the best possible results alongside Pierre," explains Franco Colapinto in the same text.

Jack Doohan's time as Alpine's regular driver lasted only seven Grands Prix. In reality, the young Australian's fortunes were stacked even before the season began when Franco Colapinto, at Flavio Briatore's insistence, joined Alpine as a reserve driver. The Australian's poor results quickly sealed his fate.

The 22-year-old son of five-time world champion Mick Doohan, who replaced Esteban Ocon in the final Grand Prix of the 2025 season, was unable to secure a second Alpine seat. For his final race in the pink and blue colors of the French team, on May 4 in Miami (Florida), the Australian, a member of Alpine's young rider program from 2022, was forced to retire early in the race due to a collision with Liam Lawson, a New Zealand rider from the Racing Bulls team.

Doohan will, however, remain with the French Formula 1 team, but as a reserve driver. "Obviously, this new chapter is difficult to accept, because I naturally want to race, like any professional driver ," he said in the Alpine press release. (...) For now, I remain focused, I work hard, and I will follow the next five races with interest while continuing to pursue my personal goals."

Franco Colapinto, 21, will be Frenchman Pierre Gasly's new teammate starting at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, held on May 18 at the Imola circuit. He's not exactly a rookie, having raced nine Grands Prix for Williams in 2024. The native of Pilar, 50 kilometers from Buenos Aires, had replaced American Logan Sargeant at short notice, who was in dry dock in the championship (zero points). He had shown his speed, but also caused a few costly accidents.