New Delhi, May 7 (IANS) Alpine F1 team has confirmed that Franco Colapinto will replace Jack Doohan for the next five race weekends, starting from the upcoming Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, with the team deciding to “rotate” the race seat alongside Pierre Gasly.
“As part of an on-going assessment of its driver line-up, the team has made the decision to rotate one of its race seats for the next five rounds of the 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship.
“BWT Alpine Formula One Team therefore announces that Franco Colapinto will be paired with Pierre Gasly from the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, ahead of a new evaluation before the British Grand Prix in July,” said an Alpine statement.
The statement added that Doohan remains with the team as “first-choice reserve driver”.
“Jack Doohan remains an integral part of the team and will be the first-choice Reserve Driver for this period of time,” it added.
Having previously served as a reserve driver for the Enstone-based team, it was announced last summer that Doohan was set to be promoted to the main race squad for 2025. The 22-year-old was then given an earlier-than-expected debut at the 2024 season finale in Abu Dhabi, following the departure of Haas-bound Esteban Ocon, Formula 1 reports.
After starting his first full-time campaign this year, Doohan has struggled to match teammate Gasly and his troubles continued last time out in Miami, where he retired from the race following a Lap 1 collision with Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson.
Doohan’s future at the team had been a frequent topic of discussion since Colapinto’s signing as a reserve in January, with Oakes having moved to quash those reports as recently as the Miami Grand Prix weekend.
Colapinto made his F1 debut last year as a mid-season replacement for Logan Sargeant at Williams and immediately impressed, prompting other teams to look into signing him to a race seat for 2025.
“Firstly, I want to thank the team for giving me the opportunity to drive competitively for the next five races. I will work hard with the team to prepare for the next race in Imola and the upcoming triple-header, which will no doubt be intense and a big challenge for everyone.
“I have stayed sharp, and I am as ready as possible with the team’s race support testing programme, as well as on the simulator at Enstone. I will do my best to get up to speed quickly and give it my all to deliver the best possible results alongside Pierre,” said Colapinto.
The news of Alpine’s driver swap comes following the confirmation on Tuesday evening that Alpine Team Principal Oliver Oakes had resigned with immediate effect. Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore will be covering the duties previously performed by the Briton.
–IANS
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