Argentine pilot Franco Colapinto will occupy the Alpine team armchair, replacing the Australian Jack Doohan as Pierre Gasly teammate during the next five calendar races. The decision occurs after a lazy start of the season by Doohan, whose last performance was at the Miami Grand Prix, where he left the competition after a touch with Liam Lawson in the International Autodrome.
The Australian pilot of 22 years came from starring several accidents, He crashed into the initial return of the Australian Grand Prix in the rain, received penalties both in the Sprint race and in the China Grand Prix, and suffered a strong accident during Friday’s training in Japan. In the United States, he added his second abandonment of the year, which finished sealing his temporary departure from the starting team.
Colapinto, who served as a reserve pilot since his arrival in Alpine in January, He will now hold on the next five dates. For its part, Doohan will fulfill functions as a substitute. The team will evaluate the alignment again after the Austria Grand Prix, planned for the end of June.
The weekend in Miami was decisive. Despite having surpassed Gasly in the main race classification (he finished 14th, while the Frenchman was 18 °, Doohan showed his dissatisfaction with the team after being eliminated in the SQ1 (17 °) during the qualy for the Sprint. His anger became evident when he openly criticized Alpine’s strategists.
The word of the Australian pilot
Jack Doohan spoke after his temporary departure from the headline of Alpine. “Obviously, this last chapter is difficult to assume for me because, as a professional pilot, I naturally want to be competing”the Australian declared in an official statement.
Doohan failed to add points in any of the six dates played this season, and his performance at the Miami Grand Prix where he starred in a collision in Curve 1, was one of the determining factors in the decision of the team.
Despite the blow that represents this situation, the 22 -year -old pilot expressed gratitude and commitment to his future. “I am very proud to have achieved my lifelong ambition to be a professional formula 1 pilot, and I will always be grateful to the team for helping me to achieve this dream”he said.
In addition, he assured that he will continue working since his role as a substitute: “For now, I will keep my head down, I will continue working hard, I will observe with interest the next five careers and I will continue to chase my own personal goals.”
Flavio Briatore’s explanation
The Alpine manager explained the decision behind the change in the alignment of pilots. “After analyzing the first races of the season, we have made the decision to put Franco in the car with Pierre during the next five races”he said. As indicated, this period will allow the team to test an alternative and, once finished, the available options will be re -evaluated for the immediate future.
The measure also responds to a longer term strategy. Briatore stressed that the intention is to carry out a “complete and fair” evaluation of the performance of the pilots, thinking about the 2026 seasonwhen formula 1 will implement a significant change in its technical regulations. In this context, the team seeks to have clarity about its ideal alignment before facing that new stage of the category.
Source: Ambito
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