Franco Colapinto will return to Formula 1 after Alpine decided he would be replacing Jack Doohan after six races of the 2025 season.
Doohan’s exit was rumoured at the start of the season, and speculation gathered some pace when Alpine signed Colapinto as a reserve driver in January.
Colapinto joined the team from Williams, and team principal James Vowles said it was his “best chance” of getting back onto the grid.
Doohan wasn’t far off Gasly in the races, but he made a few mistakes that put him under pressure to perform. Doohan cost Alpine millions with a crash in Japan, while a rookie mistake in Melbourne did not get his season off to the best start.
Colapinto replaces Doohan for the next five races, as the team looks to reevaluate its driver lineup after the British Grand Prix in July.
The Argentine impressed in his races with Williams, but there are a few unknowns for him at Alpine. Former F1 driver Rubens Barrichello has highlighted one thing that he thinks is the ‘most impressive’ about Colapinto when speaking on the After Lap podcast.
Rubens Barrichello impressed by fan support for Franco Colapinto
Barrichello first spotted Colapinto when he was competing in go-karts in the US, and there was one thing that he thinks stood out about the 21-year-old.
“When I saw Franco Colapinto [first] driving, I was in New Jersey. Franco was competing in karting and he had extraordinary speed. He was very, very fast and you saw years where he won, then lost, then won,” said Barrichello.
“But for me, the most important thing is what Argentina’s support has been. The people who sought all their support, it’s an impressive thing.
“We have to see how it goes, because when you’re young, sometimes you go to a restaurant and there is a huge line and they pass you ahead, so it puts you on a little bit of a high. Then you lose a little bit of the real picture.”
Franco Colapinto set to bring in millions of pounds worth of sponsorship
When Colapinto joined Williams towards the end of the 2024 season, the team received an influx of sponsors from Argentina.
A report at the time suggested that Colapinto was bringing in as much as £420,000 per race when he was at Williams, which was around £3.8 million by the end of the season.
The situation at the Enstone team is no different, with Colapinto set to bring in “significant backing” to Alpine with scope for that support to increase.
Alpine are likely to receive more interest if they keep Colapinto on board for the rest of the season, something they were not getting with Doohan, despite the solid results.
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