Alpine have dumped driver Jack Doohan after just six races and replaced him with Franco Colapinto.

The decision was made official just days after the Australian rookie registered a DNF at the Miami Grand Prix.

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Doohan will remain with the team as their first-choice reserve driver.

The driving line-up is not the only major change at Alpine in a chaotic 12 hours at the Formula 1 team.

Oliver Oakes resigned as team principal with immediate effect on Tuesday night, with executive advisor Flavio Briatore taking over his responsibilities.

Oakes, who was appointed last August, was Alpine’s sixth team principal in as many seasons.

In a statement, Alpine confirmed Colapinto will have only a handful of races to impress the bosses as he looks to remain as Pierre Gasly’s teammate for the foreseeable future.

“Having reviewed the opening races of the season, we have come to the decision to put Franco in the car alongside Pierre for the next five races,” Briatore said.

“With the field being so closely matched this year, and with a competitive car, which the team has drastically improved in the past 12 months, we are in a position where we see the need to rotate our line-up.

“We also know the 2026 season will be an important one for the team and having a complete and fair assessment of the drivers this season is the right thing to do in order to maximise our ambitions next year.

“We continue to support Jack at the team, as he has acted in a very professional manner in his role as a race driver so far this season.

“The next five races will give us an opportunity to try something different and after this time period we will assess our options.”

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The 22-year-old failed to finish two out of his six races this season[/caption]

Doohan, the son of motorcycle legend Mick, failed to finish higher than 13th in his six outings this season.

Despite the evident disappointment of being dropped, the Australian thanked the team for helping him achieve his lifelong dream and vowed to ‘keep my head down’ in the hopes of a return to the grid.

“I am very proud to have achieved my lifelong ambition to be a professional Formula One driver and I will forever be grateful to the team for helping me achieve this dream,” Doohan said.

“Obviously, this latest chapter is a tough one for me to take because, as a professional driver, naturally I want to be racing.

“That said, I appreciate the team’s trust and commitment. We have long-term goals as a team to achieve and I will continue to give my maximum efforts in any way I can to help achieve those.

“For now, I will keep my head down, keep working hard, watch with interest the next five races and keep chasing my own personal goals.”

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Colapinto will get another chance to prove he belongs as an F1 driver[/caption]

Colapinto has already had a taste of life on the grid as he drove for Williams in the final nine races of the 2024 season after Logan Sargeant was sacked.

The Argentinian began brightly as he registered finishes of P12, P8, P11 and P10 in his first four races.

However, Colapinto suffered a handful of crashes and did not finish three of the final four grands prix.

“Firstly, I want to thank the team for giving me the opportunity to drive competitively for the next five races,” Colapinto said.

“I will work hard with the team to prepare for the next race in Imola and the upcoming triple-header, which will no doubt be intense and a big challenge for everyone.

“I have stayed sharp, and I am as ready as possible with the team’s race support testing programme, as well as on the simulator at Enstone. I will do my best to get up to speed quickly and give it my all to deliver the best possible results alongside Pierre.”