Alpine’s Driver Dilemma: How a Mid-Season Gamble Became a Messy, High-Stakes Standoff

If Alpine’s beleaguered Formula 1 team hoped to slip quietly into the 2025 summer break, reality had other plans. Already enduring one of its most disappointing seasons in recent memory, the French outfit’s hopes of a low-profile pause were dashed when Franco Colapinto capped off a miserable Hungarian Grand Prix weekend with a heavy crash during post-race testing.

The incident—at the Hungaroring’s fearsome, high-speed Turn 11—was costly both financially and in lost development time. More worryingly, it sharpened the focus on an uncomfortable truth: since replacing Jack Doohan in May, Colapinto has yet to deliver the upturn Alpine boss Flavio Briatore expected. In eight race weekends, he’s still chasing his first point, trailing teammate Pierre Gasly 13–0 in the standings.

For Doohan, who remains in the Alpine fold as a reserve, the situation has been a frustrating watch. The swap was sold as a five-race “evaluation,” but Briatore quickly hinted Colapinto could be in for the long haul—if the results came. They haven’t, and yet the Argentine rookie remains in the car. The reasoning behind the change, and the decision-making that’s followed, has created a situation that’s messy, politically charged, and without a clear resolution.

The Case for Colapinto

Colapinto’s Alpine stint has been bruising—mentally and, on occasion, physically. The Hungarian test crash was his second significant incident with the team, and while he escaped injury, Alpine’s initial assessment was that it came down to driver error. That, in turn, reflects a broader problem: a lack of confidence and feel in the car.

It’s a stark contrast to his eye-catching cameo for Williams in mid-2024, when he stepped in with no prior F1 experience and impressed immediately. Since joining Alpine, though, Colapinto has struggled to replicate that spark. A crash in his first qualifying session set a difficult tone, and he has often looked ill at ease in a machine known for its unpredictable handling and race-day weaknesses.

Compounding the challenge is the fact that Colapinto joined Alpine mid-season, without the benefit of pre-season testing. Adjusting from Williams’ more compliant car to Alpine’s much stiffer platform has taken longer than he hoped. Add to that the immediate pressure from Briatore—who publicly demanded speed and points in a car capable of flashes of pace but hamstrung by energy-management limitations—and it’s little wonder the results have been slow to come.

There have been glimpses. In Canada and Hungary, Colapinto outqualified and beat Gasly; at Silverstone, he looked poised to do so again before spinning out in Q1. In Hungary, a race hampered by pit-stop delays masked what might have been his most competitive outing yet. But over the balance of his stint, the scoreboard tells a harsher story: Alpine’s points tally hasn’t improved, and internal patience has been tested.

The Case for Doohan

By contrast, Doohan’s early-season performances now look better in hindsight than many appreciated at the time. Before being sidelined, he was averaging a qualifying position of 15.5—half a grid slot better than Colapinto’s 16.5—and his average deficit to Gasly was a tighter 0.16s versus Colapinto’s 0.25s. He also managed to outqualify Gasly twice in his short stint, compared to Colapinto’s two in eight races.

Doohan’s campaign wasn’t without its own errors: a first-lap crash in Australia, a costly practice shunt in Japan, and some ill-judged penalties in China and Bahrain. But there were mitigating factors—last-minute engineering changes, disrupted weekends, and the occasional misstep by the team. Despite these setbacks, he showed flashes of genuine pace, especially after early-season setup tweaks.

Importantly, Doohan is a homegrown talent, the first Alpine Academy graduate to race for the F1 team—a symbolic milestone after the Oscar Piastri contract fiasco. Promoting him was supposed to be a statement of intent for Alpine’s junior program. Briatore’s decision to drop him mid-season cut against that narrative and, arguably, stalled Doohan’s development momentum.

What’s Driving the Decision?

Briatore’s public reasoning for the switch was simple: to evaluate the best driver pairing for 2026, when Alpine will switch to Mercedes power and, in his view, climb the competitive order. But if that’s the true goal, the logic for sticking with Colapinto despite underwhelming form is shaky.

One possibility is commercial: Colapinto brings marketability and potential backing from Latin America, which could be useful for a team under financial pressure. Another is simply that Briatore wants to avoid mid-season flip-flopping, even if that principle didn’t apply when he benched Doohan.

The irony is that the most rational argument for keeping Colapinto now—giving him time to settle and prove himself—was equally valid for keeping Doohan earlier in the year. Briatore’s decision to make a change has only increased the scrutiny and pressure on both drivers, and on himself.

Alternatives and Wildcards

If Alpine were to act, the summer break offers the cleanest window for a reset. Reinstating Doohan would not only honor what’s believed to be an internal agreement—if Colapinto were replaced, Doohan would get the call—but also allow a direct, fresh comparison against Gasly in the same competitive context.

There’s also the wildcard option of promoting another reserve. Paul Aron has been gaining FP1 mileage and continuing with a private testing program in Alpine’s 2023 car. Dropping a complete newcomer into the second seat mid-season would be a gamble, but so was the Colapinto swap—and Briatore has shown little aversion to risk.

More experienced names have been floated, too. Valtteri Bottas was briefly linked earlier in the year, but his focus appears to be on securing a 2026 drive with Cadillac’s incoming entry. Even so, Alpine’s driver market maneuvering under Briatore has been anything but predictable.

The Stakes

Whatever path Alpine chooses, the stakes are high for all involved. For Colapinto, this could be his final shot at proving he belongs in F1; a mid-season exit would make a return unlikely unless a newcomer like Cadillac takes a chance. For Doohan, the risk is different: spending another half-season on the sidelines could see his F1 window close altogether.

For Alpine, the driver question is just one piece of a broader crisis. Last in the constructors’ standings, with internal turbulence and an uncertain competitive outlook, the team can ill afford distractions. Yet the saga has become emblematic of Alpine’s bigger problems: inconsistent leadership, unclear long-term planning, and a tendency to create drama where stability is needed.

Conclusion: A Mess With No Easy Fix

The Colapinto–Doohan shuffle was supposed to be a gathering exercise, a calculated step toward a stronger 2026 lineup. Instead, it has left Alpine stuck in a public, polarizing mess. Colapinto has had moments, but not the breakthrough needed to silence doubts. Doohan has a case for reinstatement, but his earlier shortcomings make him far from a slam-dunk solution.

The fairest course might be to let Colapinto finish the season and see if recent flashes turn into sustained form. But fairness and Briatore’s Alpine haven’t always gone hand-in-hand. A mid-break change is still very much on the table—and if it comes, it will once again be a good young driver paying the price for a team in turmoil.

In the end, the saddest part of this saga is that both Colapinto and Doohan deserve better than to be pawns in a season where Alpine’s problems run far deeper than who occupies the second seat.

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