PF1 verdict: Is Alpine’s move for Franco Colapinto unfair on Jack Doohan?

Alpine has announced that Franco Colapinto has joined as a reserve driver for the F1 2025 season – and that could be ominous news for Jack Doohan ahead of his debut campaign.

After Alpine executive advisor Flavio Briatore sidestepped the question of Doohan being guaranteed a full season in the A525, Colapinto‘s arrival could be seen Alpine hedging their bets.

Franco Colapinto joins Alpine as F1 2025 reserve driver

Michelle Foster: Huge pressure on Jack Doohan

Yikes!

Nothing quite like having your replacement signed even before you’ve had the opportunity to prove your worth. But that’s exactly what Alpine has done by bringing in Franco Colapinto ahead of Jack Doohan’s debut campaign.

It’s long been claimed by various sources that Doohan’s contract with Alpine only guarantees him four – others say six – races in the A525.

That’s not much time for anyone to prove themselves, it’s even less when the pressure has just increased tenfold because your replacement is standing in the garage looking over your shoulder.

What was already intense pressure just went stratospheric!

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It’s not fair, some would say downright harsh.

After all, if you ask Franz Tost, a team boss heralded for nurturing young talent, a driver needs at least two seasons in Formula 1 to find their feet.

At a time when Doohan should be given room to grow while receiving Alpine’s full support, Alpine has instead signed a backup plan.

It’s now up to Jack to show the world, and Briatore, that he is the best man for the job.

And if he can do that and keep Colapinto out of the car, Alpine will know they have a star on their hands.

And if you can’t, well, that’s the brutal world of F1 for you.

Henry Valantine: James Vowles’ comments were telling

The world of Formula 1 politics has often been dubbed the ‘Piranha Club’, but what Alpine has done is seemingly the driver market equivalent of dropping the shark from?Jaws into the garage. Just watching, waiting.

On top of that, any future mistake from Doohan will – of course – be accompanied immediately by a hard cut from TV directors to Colapinto standing in the garage.

Might as well add in the two-note nuuuh, nuh?on the piano for added impact.

If Doohan wasn’t already on the back foot enough from having had a year mostly on the racing sidelines, you get the feeling that James Vowles’ quote was extremely prescient in the announcement of Colapinto’s departure in saying: “We believe this agreement with Alpine represents Franco’s best chance of securing a race seat in 2025 or 2026” – not ruling this year out at all.

Yes, Colapinto showed his rough edges with crashes towards the end of 2024, but his pace alongside an experienced campaigner in Alex Albon matched up well overall.

That cannot be overlooked, and nor can his enormous marketing appeal at a time when Alpine is cutting back on bigger costs, like funding a 2026 power unit and finding efficiencies elsewhere.

If Doohan is to avoid an early exit, then, it feels like it won’t be enough to just get close to Pierre Gasly in the early races, he will have to start beating him and turning the tables of pressure.

No easy task at all, but every driver on the grid does – and should – back themselves to hack it at the peak of motorsport.

Unfair? Arguably, yes. The way Formula 1 has always been? Also, yes.

Sam Cooper: Harsh, but not unfair on Jack Doohan

The main question Flavio Briatore will have asked himself is: “Will Franco Colapinto bring the team more success than Jack Doohan?”

And the answer he has settled on is yes.

His performances last year, coupled with lucrative Argentinian sponsors, have made Colapinto an enticing prospect and, unfortunately for Doohan, that’s just how life is sometimes.

Is it harsh? Yes. Unfair? No.

Although I would question why any young driver would opt for the Alpine academy in the future following the departure of Oscar Piastri and the pressure already on Doohan.

Thomas Maher: Jack Doohan relying on a strong start to F1 2025

With Alpine presumably having had to shell out a decent figure to sign Franco Colapinto to their books (Williams choosing to remain tight-lipped about the nature of the agreement reached with Alpine), it doesn’t seem like that money would have been spent just to keep Colapinto on the sidelines.

That handful of races Colapinto had last season showed he has the mettle to make it in F1 and, when put together with highly lucrative sponsorship deals from the Latin America market, it makes him a hugely attractive proposition to have on board for an Alpine team seeking to lean into its past at Enstone as Toleman and Benetton – having an old-school racing driver like Colapinto signed just makes sense.

Doohan appears to be caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, but he does have a chance to correct the situation – even if the cards do appear stacked against him at this point, particularly after a low-key debut at a track at which Doohan has plenty of F1 experience in an Alpine.

Don’t get distracted by the noise, or the Argentinean looming behind – keep your head down, and drive as smartly and as quickly as possible.

If Doohan can make a similar impression in his first handful of races to what Colapinto achieved, then it makes no sense for Briatore and Oakes to make a change.

It’s a huge ask of any rookie – but immediate impact is what teams seem to expect from rookies nowadays, inexperience is no longer the caveat it once was.

Red Bull has drawn plenty of criticism for their ruthlessness in how they treat rookies in the past but none of their rookies have had their replacement breathing down their necks before even starting properly.

Is it an unfair situation for Doohan to be in? Unquestionably, yes. Is that unfairness relevant? Not at all.

F1, and its competitors, have leaned into a more media-friendly image in recent years, with this resulting in a softening of the edges around the sport.

But this is merely an illusion, with Briatore one of the last old-school decision-makers.

Not known for his softness, Briatore being Doohan’s manager is perhaps the only reason why the young Australian is getting any chance at all to prove his worth.

Five or six races is more than many get and, if Doohan can’t hit the ground running, then he can expect to be replaced.

Oliver Harden: Alpine are simply correcting a mistake

The biggest mistake during last year’s silly season? Alpine’s decision to commit to Doohan for F1 2024 so early.

Having missed out on Carlos Sainz to Williams over the summer break, the team – understandably at the time – reasoned that nothing better was on the market and confirmed Doohan as Pierre Gasly’s new team-mate on the Friday of the Dutch Grand Prix.

Only for Colapinto to come along and replace Logan Sargeant at Williams just four days later.

If only Alpine had waited for a few weeks, this potentially messy situation would not have happened and Colapinto would have long been signed to a full-time drive for F1 2025.

It may result in an uncomfortable situation for Doohan, but in bringing Colapinto into the team Alpine are simply in the process of correcting an error.

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