The Formula 1 paddock isn’t known as the Piranha Club for nothing as Jack Doohan might be about to discover.
The 2025 F1 season doesn’t begin until the middle of March, but already Alpine are making moves in the driver’s market.
The French team – led by Oliver Oakes – are set to line up with Pierre Gasly and Jack Doohan in their cars at the first race of the season in Melbourne.
Gasly is an F1 race winner and proven star and for the first time since joining the team at the end of the 2022 season will be their established number-one driver after Esteban Ocon moved on to join Haas.
However, Doohan begins the 2025 campaign with just one Grand Prix under his belt, being parachuted in at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year after Ocon was released from his contract early.
Jolyon Palmer described Doohan’s debut as ‘difficult’ and the team’s chief advisor Flavio Briatore is already looking at options in the driver’s market to strengthen Alpine’s roster.
Alpine look set to sign Franco Colapinto from Williams after his impressive nine-race cameo in 2024.
The Argentine was left without a drive following the signing of Carlos Sainz and a report from Speedcafe has shared how this is set to impact Doohan’s immediate F1 future.
Alpine backing Jack Doohan despite imminent Franco Colapinto signing
The report from Speedcage suggests that sources inside the Alpine team have insisted that Doohan will start the 2025 season in one of the team’s two race seats.
They went on to say that ‘he’s our driver for 2025’, but Briatore has proved throughout his F1 career that he’s not afraid of making difficult decisions.
In a recent interview with Le Parisian, Briatore said: “The only thing we can be sure of is death.
“We’ll start the year with Pierre and Jack, I can guarantee that. After that, we’ll see as the season progresses.
READ MORE: Who is Alpine F1 driver Jack Doohan? All to know from his girlfriend to dad
“I have to get the team in the right condition to get results and the driver is the one who has to conclude the work of nearly 1,000 people behind him. Everyone works for just two people.
“If there’s a driver who isn’t making progress, who isn’t bringing me results, I change him. You can’t be emotional in F1.”
Doohan’s familiarity with the Alpine team aids his case having been with the French outfit for several years.
Gasly praised Doohan’s contributions behind the scenes throughout 2024 as his work on the simulator helped gain the team time during several race weekends.
The 21-year-old’s completed thousands of kilometres of testing to prepare for this year, but he will know better than anyone that there’s no substitute for race experience which is where Colapinto has a distinct advantage.
Jack Doohan enters the 2025 season as Formula 1’s most under-pressure driver
After two full seasons in Formula 2 – securing a best finish of third in the championship – Doohan ‘gave up the opportunity’ to run in another series last year to help Alpine and chase his Formula 1 dream, according to Speedcafe.
That dedication has been rewarded with a race seat but he doesn’t enter this season with the same hype and junior record as other rookies like F2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto, Mercedes prodigy Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Ferrari loanee Oliver Bearman at Haas.
It’s hard to know what Alpine’s 2025 car is going to look like as they made significant strides forward towards the end of last year.
READ MORE: All you need to know about Alpine F1 Team from team principal to lineage
Gasly looked completely in sync with the car and managed to secure a top-10 finish in the Drivers’ Championship as a result.
This is going to make the Australian’s job more difficult and Gasly was asked to test against Doohan in a private outing last year to see how he was progressing.
Alpine insist Doohan has delivered ‘what has been expected of him’ and he’ll be in the car in Melbourne.
While Ryo Hirakawa has also been signed from McLaren to further bolster Alpine’s driver options, the French team are confident at the moment that Gasly and Doohan are the best drivers for the job at the start of 2025.
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