Franco Colapinto delivers telling response when asked about replacing Jack Doohan at the Miami Grand Prix

Jack Doohan was officially presented as an Alpine driver on Tuesday. He carried out media commitments before appearing on stage at the F1 75 launch event in London.

This was supposed to be a joyous occasion for Doohan. The 22-year-old will make his Formula 1 debut at the Australian Grand Prix, his home race, after replacing Esteban Ocon.

But the spectre of Franco Colapinto looms large. Alpine have signed him from Williams, nominally as their reserve.

Colapinto is genuinely a third driver, rather than a back-up. He’s more experienced than Doohan and comparable in both talent (based on their respective F2 performances) and youth.

There are strong rumours that Doohan has only signed a six-race contract. He made his first appearance for the team a the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in December.

Thus Doohan is in an extraordinary situation where his seat is under major threat even before his first full season has started. Critics would call that deeply unfair, but others would say it epitomises the ruthless nature of F1.

Franco Colapinto used one revealing word as he addressed Jack Doohan Alpine rumours

In an interview with Argentine outlet Telenoche, Colapinto was directly asked about the speculation. The suggestion is that he’ll take over from Doohan at the Miami Grand Prix – at which point his six-race contract would be up.

Predictably, Colapinto looked to play down the rumours. He stressed that it was main objective was to ‘support the team’.

However, he did use one telling word – ‘I’m not a driver yet‘. That suggests he’s fully expecting to take over at some point.

Doohan may have to match Pierre Gasly to keep his seat. Given that Gasly is an F1 race-winner with more than 150 race starts to his name, that might be too big an ask.

“We all believe that 4 May – Miami – will be your debut?” Colapinto was asked.

He replied: “No no no, in the end, I’m supporting the team. I’m not a driver yet. I don’t know when I will be in the future.

“But my job is to support the team, work with them and help them to add points consistently. That’s our objective this year.”

Jack Doohan had frosty exchange with the media over Franco Colapinto speculation

Alpine have just signed a sponsorship deal with Mercado Libre, who also backed Williams after Colapinto’s arrival. That has strengthened the feeling among Argentine fans that a promotion for their new hero is inevitable.

It’s unclear what would happen to Doohan if he lost his drive. He could theoretically return to the reserve driver role he occupied in 2024, but that would be a source of embarrassment, and Alpine also have Paul Aron and Ryo Hirakawa to fulfil that function.

Doohan was involved in an awkward exchange with the media during Alpine’s press conference on Tuesday. “I’ve been told he’s the reserve driver,” was his curt response after multiple questions on the topic.