Reports: Colapinto to replace Doohan as Alpine F1 driver

Up-and-coming Argentine racer Franco Colapinto is set to replace Australian Jack Doohan as a full-time driver for the Franco-British Formula 1 team Alpine, according to multiple reports.

Colapinto, 21, is currently Alpine F1’s reserve driver. According to reporting by The Race website French sports daily L’Équipe, he will take Doohan’s seat imminently, potentially as early as the next race on the calendar: the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Imola, Italy, in less than two weeks’ time.

Colapinto would become the new team-mate of Frenchman Pierre Gasly, Alpine’s other driver.

This would be Colapinto’s second opportunity in the top tier of motorsport, following a nine-race stint with Williams in 2024, during which he scored five points and became a national superstar practically overnight.

Jack Doohan, 22, the son of five-time motorcycle world champion Mick Doohan, has failed to score any points in six races so far this season. He was forced to retire in the F1 last race, held last weekend in Miami.

Doohan had been part of Alpine’s junior driver academy since 2022 and was promoted at the end of last year to fill the slot left by Frenchman Esteban Ocon’s move to Haas.

Colapinto, who is still the subject of a media frenzy in Argentina, joined Alpine in January as a reserve driver after leaving Williams.

At the time of his signing, Alpine’s executive advisor Flavio Briatore described the Argentine as “one of the most promising talents in motorsport.”

– TIMES/AFP