Alpine have swapped out Jack Doohan with Franco Colapinto after six races of the 2025 season, in a bid to improve their fortunes.
Doohan’s future was the subject of intense speculation over the winter break after Alpine signed Colapinto from Williams for £8.5m in their pool of reserve drivers.
His form was beginning to pick up in the races he did, with Doohan outqualifying Pierre Gasly in Miami. But with Colapinto seemingly generating interest from other teams, Alpine decided to act fast with the Argentine.
Colapinto’s debut with the team in Imola was mixed, with him crashing out in qualifying, leading to a start outside of the top ten places. He would eventually finish the race in P16, 33 seconds behind winner Max Verstappen.
It’s clear that Alpine rate Colapinto’s talent, but they could face a potential headache down the line according to journalist Laurence Edmondson when speaking on the ESPN F1 podcast.
Alpine face ‘long-term’ problem with Franco Colapinto
Colapinto joined Alpine from Williams on loan, having agreed to secure his services on a multi-year deal.
This could present a headache further down the line for Alpine, according to Edmondson, as there is no long-term plan if Williams does need to recall him.
“The strange one for me is, throughout this, what’s the long-term goal with Colapinto? Because Williams has that ability to potentially bring him back, he’s still on a Williams contract on loan to Alpine,” said Edmondson.
“What’s their long-term goal there, because if Williams in two years can say Colapinto has become this brilliant driver because of his stint at Alpine, then Williams could say: ‘Well we need him back in the car because either Alex or Carlos are moving on’ – then what have Alpine achieved in that?”
Jack Doohan responds to fake news story on social media
Doohan was the subject of abuse over the Imola weekend when a fake news story emerged concerning his father, Mick Doohan, and a post on social media.
While Doohan did share a story in a subtle dig at Alpine, it was a separate post that generated the backlash from fans, which was initially shared by a parody account on X (formerly Twitter).
The Australian hit out at the abuse he received from fans who directed it at him and his family, just weeks after Doohan needed extra security at the Miami GP due to threats on social media.
“As you can clearly see, the story circulating above is completely false,” wrote Doohan on Instagram.
“It was fabricated by Argentine fans attempting to portray me and my family in a negative light. They edited the original content to make it appear as though my father posted it, which is entirely untrue.”
Alpine also issued a statement condemning the abuse, while FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem praised Doohan and Yuki Tsunoda for their response to abuse they received online.
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