Franco Colapinto has been confirmed as the temporary replacement for Australian Jack Doohan at Alpine. The Argentine will drive the Enstone car starting with the upcoming Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in Imola. According to the team now led by Briatore, the ’43’ will make his debut between May 16 and 18, and his participation will initially cover the following five races of 2025: Imola, Monaco, Spain, Canada, and Austria.
Franco Colapinto will initially race the next five races with Alpine
Colapinto, 21, will thus return to the category after competing in nine Grand Prix races in 2024 with the Williams team. His first appearance will be at the Imola circuit, where he will take the wheel of the Alpine A524 in place of Doohan, who gave up his seat by decision of the team management, mainly due to not achieving the expected results at the start of the championship.
However, there are those who believe that not taking the Argentine’s seat for granted and giving him a trial period is a way of softening Jack Doohan’s departure, trying to hide the fact that his replacement had been planned since Briatore secured Colapinto’s services.
But there are also those who point to the figure of Paul Aron. The Estonian driver arrived at Alpine without making much noise, possibly as a result of the good relationship he built with Oakes during his time at Hitech last season. But within the team, they point out that Aron has surprised them with his lap times in the multiple test days with old cars that they have been carrying out this 2025, to the point of considering whether he deserves a chance.
Expectations for Franco Colapinto: he can secure his seat at Alpine for 2026, a key year
Alpine itself had already announced on August 23 last year the signing of Jack Doohan for the 2025 season, but after the agreement with Colapinto, the first rumors began to circulate that his return to the grid was only a matter of time. Rumors initially pointed to the Miami Grand Prix, but instead it will be the next race, in Imola, the track where Franco Colapinto won his first and only Formula 2 race last year.
That’s why everything will depend on what Franco does. If he does well, which is quite likely given his performance with Williams in 2024, he would not only secure his place for the rest of the year, but also a seat for 2026, a key year for Formula 1 and the introduction of new regulations.
In addition, that season will see Alpine abandon its current engine structure, those from Viry, and switch to Mercedes engines, which are sure to be a much more efficient and reliable power unit than the current Renault ones.
Barcelona and Monaco, circuits that suit Alpine well
It is also worth mentioning that he will be behind the wheel in races where Alpine has shown its strengths, so there is a real chance that he could score several points. This is especially true in races such as Barcelona and Monaco, which are tracks that should suit the characteristics of the A525 well. Gasly, his new teammate, has seven points, with a seventh place in Bahrain and a tenth place in the sprint race at the last Miami Grand Prix.
Last year, there were no expectations for the driver. It was just a matter of learning and managing what he had at his disposal. That was also what triggered the boom in interest in the Pilar native after the weekend in Baku. An unknown driver capable of performing so well, and with a remarkable personality to boot, made headlines and generated a lot of interest, which was particularly noticeable in Argentina, where he is already a sports idol.
Former Williams and McLaren driver Juan Pablo Montoya also spoke about his work last year, highlighting that “Franco surprised Albon, who had to get his act together because he realized that if he didn’t, things were going to get complicated for him, and now Albon is doing a very good job for Williams.”
The Colombian made the comments on his podcast, Montoy’AS, where he also predicted that “I think the upcoming races could be very good for Franco, because there’s Imola, which he knows well and has raced at all his life. There’s Monaco, where he’s raced several times, and there’s Barcelona, where he’s done millions of laps. So, these are tracks where he should be competitive, it shouldn’t be too difficult,” he explained.