Alpine has finally confirmed that Jack Doohan will be replaced by Franco Colapinto for the next five races of the season, following months of speculation over the Australian.
Doohan was initially given a six-race contract by Alpine, during which he would be evaluated for the remainder of the season.
At the same time, Alpine signed Colapinto from Williams as part of their reserve driver pool. Team principal James Vowles said it would be Colapinto’s “best chance” to earn a full-time seat, which fuelled speculation over Doohan’s position.
Now that both drivers have effectively completed the same number of races, it’s worth looking at how the two compare after similar periods and contesting the same mix of known and unknown circuits.
- READ MORE: Who is Alpine 2025 F1 driver Franco Colapinto? Everything you need to know
Franco Colapinto and Jack Doohan’s F1 careers head-to-head
Colapinto had his race debut before Doohan at the 2024 Italian Grand Prix at Monza, becoming the first Argentine driver in F1 for 23 years, after Gaston Mazzacane’s last apperance for Prost in 2001.
Doohan made his debut at the 2024 Abu Dhabi GP, after Alpine decided to axe Esteban Ocon early so he could join Haas at the post-season test at Yas Marina.
| Stat | Franco Colapinto | Jack Doohan |
| F1 career points | 5 | 0 |
| Highest starting position | 8th (Azerbaijan GP) | 14th (Australian, Miami GP) |
| Q3 apperences (inc Sprint) | 2 | 0 |
| Q2 apperences (inc Sprint) | 5 | 3 |
| Q1 eliminations (inc Sprint) | 4 | 5 |
| Highest finishing place | 8th (Azerbaijan GP) | 13th (Chinese GP) |
| DNFs | 3 (Sao Paulo, Qatar, Abu Dhabi) | 2 (Australia, Miami) |
The Australian subsequently went on to make seven race starts, but he scored zero points in any of them. Doohan’s highest finishing position was 14th at the Australian GP, while Colapinto’s was eighth place at the Azerbaijan GP.
It was Colapinto who had more DNFs than Doohan, however, with the Argentine suffering three including two in a row at the tail end of 2024. Colapinto’s crashes cost Williams millions in the end, although they wanted to give him a chance after Logan Sargeant’s position became untenable.
- READ MORE: Who is Alpine reserve driver Jack Doohan? All to know from girlfriend to dad
Alpine put Franco Colapinto on five-race deal
Colapinto is on a five-race deal with Alpine, with the team set to make further evaluations to their drvier lineup at the British Grand Prix in July.
This opens up the possibility of another driver swap later in the season, given the Enstone outfit has a pool of reserve drivers they can choose from.
| Position | Constructors’ Standings | Points |
| 1 |
McLaren Racing |
246 |
| 2 |
Mercedes-AMG Petronas |
141 |
| 3 |
Red Bull Racing |
105 |
| 4 |
Scuderia Ferrari |
94 |
| 5 |
Williams F1 Team |
37 |
| 6 |
Haas F1 Team |
20 |
| 7 |
Aston Martin F1 Team |
14 |
| 8 |
Racing Bulls |
8 |
| 9 |
Alpine F1 Team |
7 |
| 10 |
Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber |
6 |
One of those is Paul Aron, who joined after a strong career in Formula 2 last season. The Estonian recently completed a test at Monza for Alpine, where he clocked up a couple of laps.
Aron is the likely replacement if Colapinto fails to improve on Doohan’s performances, while Ryo Hirakowa was formerly part of their reserve pool before switching to Haas in April as part of their ties to Japanese car brand Toyota.
