Franco Colapinto has replaced Jack Doohan at Alpine, but Flavio Briatore only handed the Argentine a contract for five rounds starting at the F1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Alpine have not sacked Doohan, yet rather demoted the Australian back into a reserve driver role. The 22-year-old’s rookie results during the first six rounds of the 2025 F1 season failed to convince Briatore he is the team’s future. So, he promoted Colapinto from a backup role.
Doohan sat out almost all of 2024 as former Alpine team principal Bruno Famin wanted him to focus solely on being the team’s reserve driver. Now, he is again on standby at Enstone in case Pierre Gasly but also Colapinto are unable to compete and Doohan needs to deputise.
Colapinto will now make his long-expected debut for Alpine at Imola next weekend when F1 stages what may also be the last Emilia Romagna GP. Imola does not have a contract beyond this term, meaning its future as well as those of Colapinto and Doohan are currently unclear.
‘Hardly anyone’ at Alpine thinks Jack Doohan will return to F1 after Franco Colapinto swap
Briatore binning Doohan has been on the cards ever since the Australian made his F1 debut at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Alpine paid Williams £8.5m to sign Colapinto this January and immediately put the Gold Coast native under pressure to excel if he wanted to last long.
But Doohan has cost Alpine more in repairs than any driver in 2025 after crashing out of the Australian Grand Prix, colliding with rivals at the Chinese Grand Prix and crashing at 185mph in FP2 for the Japanese Grand Prix. He is also one of four drivers without a point this season.
READ MORE: Who is Alpine reserve driver Jack Doohan? All to know from girlfriend to dad
So, now that Briatore has promoted Colapinto ahead of the Emilia Romagna GP, F1-Insider reports that ‘hardly anyone’ at Alpine ‘seriously’ thinks Doohan will get a second chance in Formula 1. His best result for the Renault-owned crew was the P13 he secured in Shanghai.
Figures ‘behind the scenes’ at Enstone believe the 22-year-old’s hopes of returning are non-existent as Briatore has long thought that Colapinto is the future of Formula 1, so also that of Alpine. Doohan’s first-corner crash in Miami will likely be his final act as an Alpine F1 driver.
Franco Colapinto only has to do OK to keep Jack Doohan from regaining the Alpine seat
Alpine have left the door ajar for Doohan to return to the A525, now belonging to Colapinto, at the British Grand Prix by handing his replacement a contract for the next five rounds. But Briatore has set a very low benchmark for Colapinto to keep his seat for the rest of the year.
READ MORE: Who is Alpine 2025 F1 driver Franco Colapinto? Everything you need to know
It is said that Alpine only want Colapinto to perform OK across the rounds at Imola, Monaco, Barcelona, Montreal and Spielberg to see out the season. The 21-year-old may also only fear possibly struggling at the Canadian Grand Prix after his Formula 2 results at the other tracks.
While Colapinto has never yet raced at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, he won his only F2 race at Imola in last year’s Sprint Race. He also came fifth in the Monaco Sprint and came second in the Feature Races on the support bills for the Spanish and Austrian Grands Prix last term.
