F1 News: Alpine bosses not ruling out Doohan-Colapinto swap

(GMM) Neither of the two top bosses at Alpine have clearly refuted rumors that Miami could be Jack Doohan’s final Formula 1 race weekend.

Powered by team advisor Flavio Briatore, who signed Franco Colapinto on loan from Williams, rumors have been swirling all season about a driver change.

More fuel was thrown on the fire earlier this week, when one of Colapinto’s major sponsors – Argentine oil giant YPF’s president Horacio Marin – quipped “in Imola” in a hot-mic slip when asked about Colapinto’s debut date.

Team boss Oliver Oakes’ denial in Miami was half-hearted.

“I’m sure there’s a lot of people in Argentina who’d like him in the car this Sunday,” he said. “We’ve been pretty open as a team that that’s just noise.

“Jack needs to continue doing a good job. But it’s natural that there’s always speculation there,” Oakes added.

When asked point-blank if Doohan will still be in the car at Imola, the Briton answered: “As it is today, Jack is our driver along with Pierre (Gasly). We’ve been pretty clear on that.

“We always evaluate, but today that is the case.”

On track in Miami, there are also clear signs that 22-year-old Doohan may be bracing for the exit. He raged “That is not acceptable” and “you guys put me out of Q1” on the radio, telling reporters afterwards that he was “blocked” in the pitlane by “the other car” (Gasly’s).

A day earlier, however, the Australian rookie denied that the rumors were getting to him.

“Even in the difficult moments, I never felt affected,” said Doohan. “I was surrounded by good people and the team also supported me a lot, so I never had that feeling in my head.”

As for the intensifying rumors, he said: “Things (rumors) are always there for a reason. Nothing comes out by mistake.”

Briatore is in the paddock this weekend in Miami, and he was asked by Sky Italia if he thought the pressure piled onto Doohan’s shoulders has been excessive.

“I think if Doohan is in Formula 1, I don’t think he should have the pressure,” said the Italian. “So when they tell me that a driver has pressure because there is another driver who could take his place, it should be a motivation to do well.

“I arrived at Alpine when there was already a contract with Doohan, so I didn’t make any difference,” the 75-year-old insisted.

However, Briatore – like Oakes – does not outright deny that Colapinto could soon make the leap into Doohan’s car. “Now we are evaluating,” he said.

“Let’s see how the next races go and then we will evaluate. We have three drivers, there is also Paul (Aron) – let’s see. There is a lot of responsibility for the drivers, as so many other people depend on their results.

“We have to be fair, but they also have to be fair to us,” Briatore said.

When told that it sounds like the decision has already been made to put Colapinto on the grid at some point in 2025, he answered: “No, but I think we evaluate from time to time.

“Now we have arrived at the sixth race – the only thing we have to see is to do well in this race here and get at least one car in the points and then we discuss. But I don’t accept it about saying Doohan is always under pressure. I think the pressure is there for someone who works at Fiat for 2500 euros – or even less – per month.

“I think they are the ones who are under pressure.”