Amidst reports of doom and gloom that he won’t see the Imola Grand Prix, David Croft believes Jack Doohan could yet show himself as the better option for Alpine after Franco Colapinto’s three late 2024 crashes.

Although Alpine signed Australian driver and their 2024 reserve Doohan for the F1 2025 season, almost from the get-go there were rumours that his contract did not guarantee him a full season.

‘Jack Doohan might be the best option’

This was confirmed by Alpine executive director Flavio Briatore who told the Le Parisien that the “only thing we can be sure of is death”.

He added: “We’ll start the year with Pierre and Jack, I can guarantee that. After that, we’ll see as the season progresses.

“I have to get the team in the right condition to get results and the driver is the one who has to conclude the work of nearly 1,000 people behind him. Everyone works for just two people.

“If there’s a driver who isn’t making progress, who isn’t bringing me results, I change him. You can’t be emotional in F1.”

Doohan was handed a further blow when just days later Alpine signed Colapinto as their official reserve driver, the Argentinean joining Doohan and Pierre Gasly at the Enstone team.

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But while it has been widely reported that Doohan has four or six races, depending on the report, to impress his Alpine bosses or risk losing his race seat to Colapinto, F1 pundit David Croft isn’t sure that would be the right move for the French team.

Ahead of a season in which Alpine are looking to recover having scored just 65 points in the F1 2024 championship, the Sky pundit has questioned whether Colapinto can do a better job than Doohan.

Last season, stepping up into F1 with Williams when he replaced the point-less Logan Sargeant, Colapinto scored points in two of his first five races – an impressive feat – and then had three big crashes in his last four.

Williams’ repair bill for F1 2024 was a reported €13,839,600.

“If they are looking for that extra two or three percent, they might feel that Franco Colapinto is the man to step in,” Croft told F1Oversteer at the Autosport Awards.

“However, Franco has got pressure himself because, after a blistering start, it didn’t always go according to plan in his subsequent races. He might not be the best option and Jack Doohan might be the best option.”

His comment comes as Doohan continues his preparations for the F1 2025 championship, the Australian racer busy at the team’s Enstone factory this past week.

There he spoke with RacingNews365, saying: “It’s been great. The team have had big open arms for me for a long time now. They’ve been so accommodating, very catering for me.

“And it’s great to be working with Pierre and constantly learning from him with his vast six, seven years of Formula 1 experience.

“I look forward to continuing that and creating a great relationship together to ensure that we’re the best package for the team this year.”

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