Oscar Piastri told compatriot Jack Doohan “hold your head up high” after Alpine made the decision to replace him with Franco Colapinto.

The call comes just six rounds into the F1 2025 campaign, with Doohan dropping to the sidelines to make space for Argentine Franco Colapinto, who begins a five-race audition at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Jack Doohan can be ‘very proud’ believes Oscar Piastri: End of F1 road?

Not long after the surprise resignation of Oli Oakes as Alpine team principal was announced, news arrived that Doohan was to return to the reserve driver role while Colapinto got his shot alongside Pierre Gasly.

Alpine’s only grand prix points finish so far in F1 2025 came courtesy of Gasly’s P7 in Bahrain, while the Frenchman added one more with an eighth place finish in the Miami Sprint.

Doohan’s demotion leaves World Championship leader Piastri as the only remaining Australian on the grid, and he passed on a message to the 22-year-old shortly before confirmation arrived, with speculation having ramped up in recent days that Doohan was out and Colapinto in at Alpine.

“I’ve literally just seen that the team principal has gone,” Piastri began on Wide World of Sports.

“I mean, I’ve not heard it officially that Jack’s out, but I’ve obviously seen the talk. I think if it is the end of the road for Jack, I think he can be very proud of, firstly, making it to Formula 1, you know. It’s not an easy thing, especially coming from Australia. There’s a lot of hard decisions along the way.

“So, if he has had his final race, then, I think hold your head up high, you’ve been an F1 driver and no one can take that away from you.

“So, you know, I’m sure he’ll have a successful career in whatever happens.”

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Of course, the door to Formula 1 has not fully slammed shut for Doohan, and he will be a keen spectator over the coming five race weekends as Colapinto looks to prove himself.

“I am very proud to have achieved my lifelong ambition to be a professional Formula 1 driver and I will forever be grateful to the team for helping me achieve this dream,” said Doohan.

“Obviously, this latest chapter is a tough one for me to take because, as a professional driver, naturally I want to be racing.

“That said, I appreciate the team’s trust and commitment.

“We have long-term goals as a team to achieve and I will continue to give my maximum efforts in any way I can to help achieve those.

“For now, I will keep my head down, keep working hard, watch with interest the next five races and keep chasing my own personal goals.”

Read next – PF1 verdict: Fair or unjust? Alpine’s decision to swap Doohan for Colapinto