F1's Worst Kept Secret: Doohan Out, Colapinto In

Jack Doohan will be replaced by Franco Colapinto for the next five rounds of the 2025 Formula 1 Season, with Alpine opting to “rotate” its driver line-up at the upcoming Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.

The microscope watching over Doohan’s performances in 2025 has been no secret with the pressure mounting on the Australian from his very first outing right here in Melbourne.

From his first expensive crash on the opening lap of the Australian Grand Prix, it felt as if Doohan’s fate was set in stone, especially with a hungry Franco Colapinto and a cutthroat Flavio Briatore watching on from the wings.

Today, his destiny was confirmed, with Alpine announcing that Colapinto will now partner with Pierre Gasly for the next five rounds of the 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship, brushing Doohan back into a Reserve Driver role.

The Argentine will jump into the cockpit from the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, continuing as Alpine’s full-time driver, and will go through a new evaluation before the British Grand Prix in July.

Rumoured to have been informed of the decision after his Lap 1, Turn 1 incident at the Miami Grand Prix, Doohan expressed his thoughts on the demotion.

“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,” Doohan said.

“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.”

The news — albeit not a shock — comes fresh after Oliver Oakes announced his immediate resignation from Alpine in the early hours of this morning, leaving the duties from his role as Team Principal to be covered by Briatore.

Pairing with the announcement, the Executive Advisor shared his reasoning behind the team’s decision to strip Doohan of his seat after just seven races.

“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,” Briatore said.

“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.”

Stepping into Doohan’s shoes, the waiting game finally paid off for Franco Colapinto who has been fulfilling the role of Test and Reserve Driver at Alpine since jumping ship from Williams.

With barrels of support behind the Argentine, Colapinto rejoins the grid with nine Grands Prix under his belt after replacing an underperforming Logan Sargeant at Williams in August of last year, scoring points on two occasions — the Azerbaijan Grand Prix (4th in the Sprint) and the United States Grand Prix (10th in the main race).

“Firstly, I want to thank the team for giving me the opportunity to drive competitively for the next five races,” Colapinto said.

“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.

“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.”

Sporting the #43, Colapinto’s first Grand Prix outing of 2025 will be at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix — the first race of the triple-header which kicks off on May 16-18.

Image: Formula 1/BWT Alpine Formula 1 Team