Alpine are preparing to make a change to their driver lineup just two races into the 2025 season following another disappointing start. The Enstone outfit have reportedly decided to replace their rookie driver Jack Doohan, who made his debut last season in Abu Dhabi before taking Esteban Ocon’s seat, having been left unimpressed with his early performances. Alpine are looking to make the change in time for the European leg of the Formula One calendar, which begins on May 18 with the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, and Doohan is poised to make way for reserve driver Franco Colapinto. According to ESPN, sources revealed that it is ‘likely’ Colapinto will step into the seat by the time the race in Italy rolls around.

Doohan – the son of former MotoGP rider Mick Doohan – has struggled to match the competitiveness of the cars around him in his first two races of the season. He crashed on the first lap of his home race in Australia and finished 13th at the Chinese Grand Prix after he was found to have forced another driver off the track when squabbling for position with Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto. Consequently, he racked up four penalty points for his actions.

The 22-year-old has fallen some way short of matching his team-mate Pierre Gasly in the same machinery and with Alpine being the only one of the 10 teams yet to score a point, their bosses have made the brutal decision to wield the axe on Doohan.

Colapinto has already effectively ended the F1 career of one driver when he was drafted in for Logan Sargeant for the final third of the 2024 campaign. The 21-year-old made a huge impression, picking up four points by finishing eighth in his second race at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, although the lack of pace in the Williams car was evident.

He bagged another point at the United States Grand Prix in Austin and, while subsequent incidents and crashes took some of the shine off his introduction, he had convinced Williams boss James Vowles of his ability.

Alpine executive advisor Flavio Briatore moved quickly to secure the Argentine on a ‘multi-year agreement’ from Williams as their backup driver after missing out on Carlos Sainz, although it was always viewed as a potential option for him to swap with Doohan if he wasn’t performing.

Reports have linked Colapinto with a shock move to Red Bull to take Liam Lawson’s seat, but Alpine are not in a position to let him leave.

It would also take a substantial amout of money to convince them to let him join a rival team when they are struggling themselves, having paid a reported fee of £16m to secure his services.