Just under 12 hours after Flavio Briatore takes control at Alpine, the French team announces that Franco Colapinto will drive the next five races for the team.

At 20:03 on Tuesday evening came the news that Oliver Oakes had left the Enstone-based outfit with immediate effect, at 08:02 this morning came the official confirmation that Jack Doohan has been dropped and Colapinto will drive the next five races.

"As part of an on-going assessment of its driver line-up, the team has made the decision to rotate one of its race seats for the next five rounds of the 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship," reads the team statement.

"Therefore, Franco Colapinto will be paired with Pierre Gasly from the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, ahead of a new evaluation before the British Grand Prix in July," it adds. "Jack Doohan remains an integral part of the team and will be the first-choice reserve driver for this period of time."

Colapinto, who was one of the team's test & reserve drivers, will race with the number 43 on his A525 and will partner Gasly for the first time in Imola, ahead of three races in three weekends in Europe, which also covers the Monaco Grand Prix and Spanish Grand Prix, before two races in June for the Canadian Grand Prix and Austrian Grand Prix.

"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," said Flavio Briatore. "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."

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

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

"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."

Colapinto made headlines last year with a surprise debut at Monza, becoming the first Argentinian driver in Formula 1 in over two decades. The 21-year-old quickly made his mark, scoring points in just his second Grand Prix with an eighth-place finish in Baku.

Despite his impressive performances, the 2025 grid was already full by the time Colapinto arrived on the scene. However, he remained close to the action, joining Alpine as a reserve and test driver.

Over the past months, he completed extensive testing in previous-generation machinery, attended the opening rounds of the season in Melbourne and Shanghai as reserve driver, and played a key role in car development through simulator work across the remaining race weekends.