Alpine will now have a new driver lineup for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, after swapping Jack Doohan with Franco Colapinto.
Colapinto was brought into the team as part of their reserve driver pool at the start of the season, having been signed from Williams.
Team principal James Vowles believed it was his “best opportunity” to earn a seat on the grid with the move, and after six races with Doohan they have made the swap.
Doohan’s performances were not good enough for Alpine, although Martin Brundle was impressed by what the Australian did up against Pierre Gasly.
Gasly now gets a new teammate, although he might be concerned over one statement that Briatore made about having a number one driver in his team when speaking on Beyond the Grid.
What Flavio Briatore once said about number one drivers at Alpine
Briatore will take over the reins at Alpine after Oliver Oakes resigned from the position of team principal just hours before the Doohan announcement, citing personal reasons.
The Italian used to be in charge of Alpine during their days known as Benetton, and he once made a statement about number one drivers when asked about Michael Schumacher.
“I understand the world champion was one driver, and the Constructors’ Championship was everyone together. For me, it was simple: Will the driver give me the guarantee of winning the world championship? I didn’t want a fight between them,” said Briatore.
“I was always against having two top drivers fighting. For me, the car is from the team, it’s not owned by the driver. I tell them always that ‘The car is my car, not your car’ and after that, the driver number one is the quickest one.
“It’s like in the business if you have six or seven commercial directors, the number one is the guy selling more sponsors, better packages etc…”
Franco Colapinto has five races to impress at Alpine
Alpine was explicit when they announced that Colapinto would be taking over Doohan that it would be a five race deal with the Argentine.
Colapinto is expected to bring in a lot of sponsorship as part of his deal, having also done so when he was at Williams.
The team will reevaluate its driver lineup at the British Grand Prix just before the summer break takes place in the middle of July.
Leave feedback about this