Ralf Schumacher tells Flavio Briatore the fundamental mistake he made in Franco Colapinto’s Alpine promotion

Alpine have been the focus of the Formula 1 world since the conclusion of the Miami Grand Prix.

Two key personnel changes have taken place at Alpine, with Oliver Oakes announcing his resignation from the team less than a year after taking charge.

That announcement was followed up by the confirmation that Franco Colapinto would be replacing Jack Doohan for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Colapinto has five races to prove himself, an even shorter spell than Doohan was handed at the beginning of 2025.

The fan reaction to Alpine’s decision to give Colapinto just five race weekends was one of confusion, with many believing that detail should have been kept private.

Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher has shared his feelings on the switch and why he believes interim team principal Flavio Briatore may have made an unfortunate mistake already.

READ MORE: Who is Alpine 2025 F1 driver Franco Colapinto? Everything you need to know

Alpine got Franco Colapinto announcement ‘wrong’ says Ralf Schumacher

Schumacher was speaking on the Backstage Boxengasse Podcast about the second F1 driver swap of the season and said, “I mean, I think Flavio and the driver knew what they were doing.

“I just think the communication was wrong. If Flavio stands up, like he now has and said Colapinto, OK, he has five or six races, I want the best driver for next year, we have the Mercedes engine, so we can assume that we will be at the front.

“Then I think that’s also a plan and a concept because this is a transitional year.

“What does Alpine want to achieve? So, all you do now is get new people onboard and look for the best driver, which I think is perfectly legitimate, but as I said, communication is the problem.”

Alpine have had to deal with a barrage of comments from Argentinian fans on every social media post since Colapinto joined the team from Williams.

It’s partly why Briatore was so interested in signing him as he comes with generous sponsorship backing and Colapinto is expected to boost their merchandise sales.

However, this should not distract from the harshness with which Doohan has been treated, and considering the much more experienced Gasly has only managed to score seven points in 2025, it suggests Alpine are further down the midfield pecking order than first thought.

READ MORE: Who is Alpine’s F1 executive adviser Flavio Briatore? Everything to know

Ralf Schumacher claims Alpine didn’t share the ‘truth’ about Jack Doohan and Mick Schumacher’s F1 shootout test

Doohan was one of several drivers being considered for the second seat at Alpine this year when it was confirmed Esteban Ocon was joining Haas.

Mick Schumacher was an option for Alpine after joining the team’s WEC outfit last season from Mercedes.

Ralf Schumacher explained why he didn’t feel too sorry for Doohan in the end and shared, “Jack Doohan had a huge chance, unlike many others, because Alpine has this old car, they did a lot of testing, well over 10,000 km, even when he competed against Mick [Schumacher] in the car, that was the case.

“And they even had a test and what was communicated didn’t correspond with the truth, it was a long way off.

“Especially in the long run back then,” to which Schumacher was asked if what was reported went against Mick Schumacher, and he continued, “Exactly. That’s why it was already set in stone.

“He made a lot of mistakes, he was under pressure and I have to say about Japan, yes, it is of course completely chaotic going into it without closing the DRS.

“However, the team was very unhappy after leaving him out of the first practice session. I think that was a mistake.”

Alpine’s reasons for promoting Doohan over Schumacher may never be made public, and Ralf Schumacher doesn’t share the exact details of the difference between the two drivers during their testing sessions.

What’s certain is that whoever is in that second seat alongside Gasly is likely to be under constant pressure from a revolving door of potential candidates.