Alpine adviser Flavio Briatore simply looked at his watch when asked to put a timeframe on Jack Doohan’s stint in an Alpine F1 2025 race seat, it has been claimed.

Doohan, the son of Australian motorcycling great Mick Doohan, was confirmed as Pierre Gasly’s 2025 Alpine team-mate at last year’s Dutch Grand Prix, four days before Colapinto stepped up to a Williams race seat for the final nine races of 2024.

Flavio Briatore checks watch over Jack Doohan timeline

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

With Williams already committed to fielding Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon for F1 2025, Colapinto’s impressive performances saw him linked with a number of teams before he was signed as Alpine’s new reserve driver last month.

James Vowles, the Williams team principal, claimed at the time that a move to Alpine represents Colapinto’s best chance of returning to a race seat, potentially as soon as this year.

With Doohan’s contract widely reported to cover only the first few races of the season, it has been speculated that Colapinto could replace the Australian within weeks.

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PlanetF1.com understands that Doohan’s continued participation in the new season will be dependent on performance, as is the case with every other driver on the grid.

Speaking at the end of last year, before the signing of Colapinto was confirmed, Briatore moved to “guarantee” that Doohan will start F1 2025 as Gasly’s team-mate, but warned that he will not hesitate to make a change is performance is lacking.

Doohan, meanwhile, told media including PlanetF1.com at the recent F1 75 launch event that he has been reassured that Colapinto is the team’s reserve driver.

Briatore, who returned to the Enstone-based team as an executive adviser last summer and is believed to be Doohan’s manager, was in attendance in Bahrain last week as Doohan and Gasly put Alpine’s 2025 car, the A525, through its paces in pre-season testing.

And a report by Swiss-German publication Blick has lifted the lid on the 74-year-old’s ominous reaction when quizzed on the future of Doohan.

Asked by a reporter when Doohan’s “time will run out” given the looming threat of Colapinto, Briatore reportedly opted against a verbal response and simply looked at his watch.

Speaking to media including PlanetF1.com in Bahrain, Alpine team principal Oliver Oakes admitted that he “feels” for Doohan for having to cope with the uncertainty surrounding his future.

Asked how the rookie is dealing with the speculation surrounding his seat, Oakes said: “He’s alright. I was quite proud of him being punchy with you all [the media]!

“I actually feel for him, because I get that everybody wants the clickbait and that’s a discussion topic, but I think he should be given a bit of space to just get on with it for a few rounds.

“And then at the end of the day, like any driver, you’ve got to deliver.

“I think he’s done a really good job of just blocking out the noise and getting on with it.”

Put to him that Doohan has a maximum of six races to impress at the start of the season, Oakes replied: “I think we’ve been really honest as a team as to what we’re doing. I’m pretty chilled on it.

“I think it would be nice – I keep saying it – [to] just let Jack just get on with it and also let the team get on with it, to be honest.

“I get everybody has an opinion. Everyone can be a keyboard warrior as well.

“It’s very simple, though, isn’t it? We’re here to go racing the best driver in the car, the best engine in the car.

“And from my side, I was pretty open, as Flavio said it, that we’re starting the season with Jack and Pierre.

“And then let’s see how it all goes.”

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