Alpine has confirmed that Franco Colapinto will replace Jack Doohan in at least the next five Formula 1 races starting with the next round at Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
The Argentine driver was signed as a reserve player for the Alpine in the winter, and James Bowles, the principal of the Williams team, said he is effectively lending out in the hopes of racing at some stage. Following just six races in the 2025 season, Rookie Doohan has been demoted to the reserve role, with Corapinto partnering with Pierre Guthrie after Imora before the team says they will carry out a new driver evaluation in July.
“Reviewing the opening race for the season, we came to the decision to get Franco into the car with Pierre for the next five races,” said executive director Flavio Bliatore. “This year, we think there’s a need to spin the lineup with competitive cars that have improved significantly in the past 12 months. The 2026 season is important to the team, and giving a full and fair assessment of this season is right to maximize the development of next year.
“We continue to support Jack on our team. He has been acting in a very professional way this season in his role as a race driver so far. The next five races give us the opportunity to try something else.
Doohan failed to score points in Alpine’s seven starts – making his debut at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year, but surpassing Guthrie for the first time in Miami last time. Guthrie scored points on one Grand Prix and one sprint, with Alpine’s total of seven points coming in ninth in the Constructors Championship.
The five-race spell outlined by the team is the track that guaranteed the race seat corapinto before the British Grand Prix in July, making his FP1 debut at Williams a year ago, and held his second consecutive weekend race, including the Austrian Grand Prix.
“First, I would like to thank the team for giving me the opportunity to drive competitively in the next five races,” Corapinto said. “I will work hard with the team to prepare for Imola and the next race in the upcoming triple header, which is definitely a fierce and big challenge.
“I’m inspiring and ready as much as I can with my team’s race support testing program and Enstone’s simulator. I’ll do my best to speed up quickly and deliver everything together with Pierre to deliver the best possible results.”
The confirmation of the driver changes was confirmed by executive advisor Flavio Briatre, one day after the shocking announcement that Team Principal Oval Oaks had immediately resigned, and executive advisor Flavio Briatre took over Oaks’ responsibility.