Alpine have acted quickly in the driver’s market to give themselves the strongest possible roster of drivers heading into the 2025 Formula 1 season.
Former McLaren development driver Ryo Hirakawa and Williams star Franco Colapinto have arrived this year to bolster their options going forward.
That’s after Alpine decided to promote reserve driver Jack Doohan into Esteban Ocon’s seat when he decided to continue his F1 career with Haas.
Combine that with the fact that Alpine’s academy contains Paul Aron, Gabriele Mini and Victor Martins and you feel that the team are well-prepared for any eventuality going forward.
Pierre Gasly will be joined by Doohan at the beginning of the 2025 season, but the threat of Colapinto looms over the young Australian already.
It’s easy to imagine the television cameras panning to the Argentine in the garage if Doohan ever makes a mistake on track.
Doohan’s contract may only run for a few races, meaning he needs to perform at every opportunity to fend off the threat of Colapinto.
Flavio Briatote in particular seems to be excited about the 21-year-old and Colapinto’s manager Maria Catarineu explained in an interview with Infobae his immediate reaction to see the former Wiliams man in action in a Formula 1 car.
Flavio Briatore’s amazed reaction to Franco Colapinto in F1 after signing him for Alpine
Talking about how the deal between Alpine and Colapainto played out, Catarineu said: “The deal came about because both parties got what they wanted: Flavio was able to sign Franco and James [Vowles, Williams team principal] was able to give him the chance to race, as at Williams their regular drivers have long-term contracts.”
Catarineu then explained that Briatore wanted Colapinto as soon as he watched his F1 debut and after his first race, he said: “I’ve seen talent and I want him.
READ MORE: Who is Alpine’s F1 executive adviser Flavio Briatore? Everything to know
“He [Briatore] is a very interesting character, with a lot of personality, very passionate and very engaging.
“He always had Franco between his eyebrows and at all costs, he wanted to have him.”
Colapinto’s debut came at the Italian Grand Prix after replacing Logan Sargeant at Wiliams for the final nine races of the season.
Although he was eliminated in Q1 that day, he worked his way through the pack to finish P12 and one race later he was in the points after securing eighth at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
It meant that Colapinto had already surpassed Sargeant’s career F1 points tally just two races into his run in the team.
Why Franco Colapinto’s F1 number is 43 and how he retains it for 2025 despite losing his seat?
Although Colapinto isn’t going to be on the grid at the Australian Grand Prix in March, he still retains his driver number.
That’s because F1 don’t allow a number to be reassigned until a driver has been out of the sport for two successive seasons.
Isack Hadjar will make history when he adopts the number five, previously used by Nico Rosberg and Nicholas Latifi, as it is the only time a designated digit has been used by three different racers.
READ MORE: Who is Alpine reserve driver Franco Colapinto? Everything to know
Colapinto entered the F1 using the number 43, following in the footsteps of Nigel Mansell and Stefan Bellof who previously used it when racing for McLaren and Lotus respectively.
The 21-year-old used the number during his karting career, winning the 2018 Argentine Senior Championship, and Spanish F4 Championship and finishing third in the 2020 Toyota Racing Series with it on his car.
The question now remains about when it will next be seen in Formula 1.
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