Alpine has announced Franco Colapinto will replace Jack Doohan for the next five rounds of the FIA Formula One World Championship, beginning with the upcoming Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix. The team stated the change is part of an ongoing assessment of its driver lineup.
Colapinto will race alongside Pierre Gasly. The evaluation period will run until the British Grand Prix in July. Doohan will continue with the team as the first-choice reserve driver during this time.
The decision follows Doohan's initial seven-race run in the seat, which saw the driver struggle to match his teammate. He retired from the last race in Miami after a collision with Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson. Doohan also had a practice crash earlier in the season in Suzuka after he failed to close his Drag Reduction System.
Franco Colapinto, an Argentinian driver, joins the lineup after serving as a reserve driver for Alpine this season. He previously made nine starts for Williams in 2024 as a substitute, scoring points in Azerbaijan and Austin. His Williams stint also included crashes in Sao Paulo and Las Vegas.
The team's move comes shortly after Alpine announced the resignation of Team Principal Oliver Oakes, who had moved to quash speculation about Doohan's future as recently as the Miami Grand Prix weekend. Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore will oversee team duties.
Alpine executive advisor Flavio Briatore said the team needed to rotate drivers to conduct a "complete and fair" assessment ahead of the 2026 season. Analysis detailing why Alpine chose to promote Colapinto highlighted Doohan's incidents as a factor.
said Colapinto he would work hard to prepare for the upcoming races, which he expects to be "intense and a big challenge." He added he has stayed ready through the team's testing program and simulator work.
Doohan described his demotion is "tough to take". "I am very proud to have achieved my lifelong ambition to be a professional Formula 1 driver and I will forever be grateful to the team for helping me achieve this dream," Doohan stated. "Obviously, this latest chapter is a tough one for me to take because, as a professional driver, naturally I want to be racing."
