Alpine respond to ‘harsh’ Doohan treatment amid Colapinto storm

Oliver Oakes has insisted Jack Doohan will be given a “fair crack” at life in F1 by Alpine.

After the signing of third driver Franco Colapinto, it has been widely mooted the Australian is already consigned to his fate and wil enjoy only a brief spell alongside team-mate Pierre Gasly before being jettisoned out of a race seat.

There has been heavy speculation that Doohan, who made his F1 debut at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, will only be afforded five or six races to impress. Some have suggested his contract only spans that length of time.

Oakes, however, is adamant the 22-year-old is not a dead man walking and that the French squad does not already have designs on parachuting in the Argentine after only a handful of rounds in the season to come.

Nonetheless, Colapinto – known to be admired by Alpine adviser Flavio Briatore – being signed is a curious move by the team, which already has additional reserves Paul Aron and Ryo Hirakawa on its books.

To Oakes, it is merely a case of shoring up options for the future with a deeper bench of talent to draw upon.

“It’s been a little bit harsh on Jack, some of the stuff that was written by the keyboard warriors there, and he’s getting his fair crack at it,” the 37-year-old said on the James Allen on F1 podcast.

“And I think the intention there isn’t to put [pressure] on his shoulders. It’s genuinely to give the team options further down the line.

“For me, F1 is fine margins. There’s a load of people who are depending on a driver to deliver each weekend, and we need to make sure we’ve got the best drivers in the race car, not just now, but also in the future.”

Oakes: Colapinto signing keeps Doohan and Gasly ‘honest’

Alpine took considerable measures to release Colapinto from his previous deal, at Williams. It is something Oakes pointed out was a move made not just with this year in mind.

Regardless of that, the 21-year-old’s old boss at the Grove-based team, James Vowles, appeared to say the quiet part out loud upon Colapinto leaving for Alpine.

“We believe this agreement with Alpine represents Franco’s best chance of securing a race seat in 2025 or 2026,” his statement read, underscoring the seemingly omnipresent threat to Doohan.

Oakes maintains it is simply a case of keeping his drivers “honest in terms of how they’re performing”, including Gasly.

Despite a difficult end to his short tenure racing alongside Alex Albon at Williams, the Briton feels Colapinto did enough to earn a second shot at a full-time F1 seat.

“I think Franco made a great first impression with Williams. I think it was clear to see that he probably tried a bit too hard at the end there,” he said, elaborating on the situation.

“How much of that was the situation he was in, where he didn’t have a seat confirmed and was trying to over-impress, and how much of that was a compromise on parts on the car, that’s hard to calculate. But I think the crux is he made a strong impression with the speed he showed.

“For us as a team, it’s great to have that roster of two young drivers in Paul and Franco there waiting in the wings because it’s not just about 2025; 2026, 2027 is around the corner, and it’s hard in F1 to plan what’s going to happen and what drivers you’re going to have to go in the car.

“For us, it just keeps everyone honest in terms of how they’re performing and gives us options.”