Jack Doohan’s F1 debut at risk as replacement emerges in major silly season twist

Australian Jack Doohan’s Formula 1 debut could be at risk, with reports his Alpine team is pursuing a star rookie for a shock switch for 2025.

Australian Jack Doohan’s Formula 1 career could be at risk before it’s even begun, with reports Alpine is pursuing Williams rookie Franco Colapinto for a full-time seat in 2025.

Colapinto has emerged as a key piece in the driver market, having impressed since replacing Logan Sargeant at Williams at the Italian Grand Prix just six races ago.

Despite having never raced at almost every track visited since then, the Argentine has scored five points to teammate Alex Albon’s eight. Sargeant hadn’t scored before he was replaced.

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The 21-year-old’s Williams stint was always destined to be short, with his seat having already been signed to Carlos Sainz for next year and with Albon long having committed to the team.

But his impressive rookie performances have caught the attention of the paddock, with Williams boss James Vowles having already revealed that he was negotiating with several teams about loaning him out or selling his contract outright.

Renault-owned Alpine has emerged as a shock contender.

The England-based team has already signed Doohan alongside incumbent Pierre Gasly for next year.

But Italy’s Gazzetta dello Sport has reported Alpine executive adviser Flavio Briatore has had a change of heart and is committed to pursuing Colapinto instead.

If the Italian powerbroker is successful in luring the Argentine, the Gazzetta reports that it would be at Doohan’s expense.

Jack Doohan and Franco Colapinto.

On paper replacing Colapinto with Doohan would appear to be practically like for like. Doohan has more junior racing experience and is already embedded in the Enstone team, having spent this year sidelined as its reserve driver and having completed 5000 kilometres of private testing in previous-spec Alpine cars.

Colapinto is relatively less tenured but would arrive with contemporary Formula 1 experience. He also counts several big-money sponsors on his side, and with Formula 1’s popularity exploding in Argentina off the back of his debut, there would be scope for his portfolio to grow further.

Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has already suggested the sport could return to Argentina in the short-term future to capitalise on the new wave of support.

A pay driver — albeit one who clearly deserves a place on the grid — would be attractive to Alpine, which has been embarked on a cost-cutting drive by parent company Renault after years of underwhelming performances, the French manufacturer having announced earlier this year that it would be shuttering its expensive power unit division to become a customer team from 2026.

Alpine might also appeal to Williams given it is reportedly open to taking Colapinto on loan, which would be the first preference of team boss Vowles.

A temporary move could keep the Argentine in play at Grove if Sainz or Albon were to lose faith in the team after the first year of new rules in 2026, when Williams is targeting a big step up the grid.

However, Alpine is thought to be an outside bet to acquire Colapinto, with Red Bull also in the hunt for the 21-year-old.

Williams has reportedly set a high price on Colapinto’s contract, and Red Bull would be better placed to pay it than austere Alpine.

Red Bull also needs Colapinto more, with serious questions over Sergio Pérez’s immediate future at Red Bull Racing and longer term uncertainty over Max Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda beyond the end of 2025.

Pérez is increasingly unlikely to see the first year of his new contract next season after months of poor performances that are sure to cost the team the constructors championship.

Verstappen, meanwhile, has been linked all year with a move away, potentially to rival Mercedes, as key pillars of the Red Bull Racing establishment leave for other teams.

Tsunoda, who will compete for a fifth year with Faenza next season, is thought unlikely to continue with the Red Bull family after Honda departs to become Aston Martin’s works supplier in 2026.

It leaves the Red Bull program with potentially as many as three seats to fill in the next two seasons.

It appears to be lukewarm about the readiness of Formula 2 prospect Isack Hadjar to make the step up to Formula 1 next year, heightening the need for an alternative immediate solution.

Conventional wisdom suggests that Lawson would replace Pérez at the end of the year, with Colapinto subsequently stepping into the Kiwi’s RB drive.

However, The Race has reported that Christian Horner sees Colapinto as a potential direct replacement for the under-pressure Mexican off the back of his assured performances at Williams.

Importantly, Colapinto has compared well with teammate Albon, a former Red Bull junior and Red Bull Racing driver. Though he left the team at the end of 2020 and the family at the end of 2021 to join Williams, management held him in high regard.

He would also lack little in the way of experience relative to Lawson — at the end of the year Colapinto will have entered nine grands prix to the New Zealander’s 11.

Having Colapinto not only leapfrog Lawson and Tsunoda but also effectively block the way for Red Bull’s younger talent from moving up to Formula 1 would be seen as a vote of no confidence in the team’s junior driver program, which is overseen by Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko.

Horner and Marko lead opposing factions in the battle for political control over Red Bull’s Formula 1 program, with hostilities having spilled into the open earlier this year.

Jos Verstappen, who aligns with Marko in this conflict, told Viaplay this week that he would support Lawson replacing Pérez as his son’s teammate next season.

“I think Lawson is doing very well,” he said.

“It seems logical to me that he is ready to step up. Let him finish this season and build confidence, and then the team has to decide what they do for next year.

“It’s better if there is someone who is competitive and pushes Max forward a bit. That always helps, but we’ll see.”

Originally published as Jack Doohan’s F1 debut at risk as replacement emerges in major silly season twist