F1 fans think Alpine have already made one ‘incredibly weird’ Franco Colapinto error after replacing Jack Doohan

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The news that everybody was waiting for from Alpine has finally been announced as Franco Colapinto will step into Jack Doohan’s race seat for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Jack Doohan has every right to feel hard done by, with speculation about his future beginning just one race into his Formula 1 career.

Alpine promoted Doohan into Esteban Ocon’s seat for the 2024 season finale in Abu Dhabi, but by the time he was racing again at his home Grand Prix in Melbourne in March, Franco Colapinto had arrived on the scene.

The Argentine impressed at Williams towards the end of last year when he replaced the underperforming Logan Sargeant, and Flavio Briatore worked hard to sign Colapinto on loan over the winter break.

F1 Oversteer understood that a swap between Doohan and Colapinto was imminent after a first-lap collision at the Miami Grand Prix with Liam Lawson ended his race.

However, plenty of F1 fans have noticed one detail in Colapinto’s announcement which suggests Alpine have already repeated one mistake they made during Doohan’s short tenure.

READ MORE: Who is Alpine 2025 F1 driver Franco Colapinto? Everything you need to know

F1 fans react to Alpine offering Franco Colapinto a five-race deal after replacing Jack Doohan

Posting on social media on Wednesday to break the news, Alpine posted, “¡VamosFranco!

“@FranColapinto will be making the step up to race driver for the next five races.”

This announcement came just hours after Oliver Oakes confirmed he had resigned as team principal of Alpine, with Briatore stepping into the role.

The key detail that many fans noticed was how Colapinto appeared to now be in the same position as Doohan who was only on a short-term deal as well, which many consider to be a mistake to admit to publicly.

One fan said, “Incredibly weird that everyone knew Jack’s days were numbered and now everyone knows Franco has five races.”

Another fan quoted the press release which stated, “The next five races give us the chance to try something different. After this period we will consider our options,” and replied, “They’re playing musical chairs.”

One person replied, “Red Bull really set the trend, now even Alpine’s getting into the driver swap game.”

Another fan added, “Glad to see him back, but a 5-race contract seriously??? Who replaces him after that!!”

“So after 5 races and he fails to perform does Alpine find a third driver for that car this year,” one comment suggested.

Another fan was left confused by the call and admitted, “I don’t get what Alpine are doing here. Signing Colapinto for five races and then what? Who’s next in line? It’s bizarre!”

READ MORE: All you need to know about Alpine F1 Team from team principal to lineage

How has Franco Colapinto performed at the next five circuits on the 2025 Formula 1 calendar?

Colapinto only raced nine times for Williams last season and didn’t take part in any of the Grand Prix coming up in the initial five-race stint he’s been offered.

However, that doesn’t mean he’s a complete stranger to any of these circuits.

Colapinto won the Formula 2 Sprint Race at Imola last season before finishing fifth in the Feature Race, while he also won the Sprint Race at the same circuit during the 2022 Formula 3 season.

Monaco is another staple of the junior ranks, finishing in the points at three of his last four outings at the track.

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The Argentine will then head to the Circuit de Catalunya for the final round of the upcoming triple header, where he’s finished second in his past two Feature Races across F2 and F3.

Canada and Austria are the final two races where Colapinto has the chance to impress, and while he’s never raced in Montreal, he has two podiums he can call upon at the Red Bull Ring earlier in his career to work from.

It means that Colapinto has been given a run of tracks that he’s been very successful in proving to Alpine that his rotating seat with Doohan needs to be made more permanent.