The Franco Colapinto warning he sent to Jack Doohan on his first day at Alpine that’s now come true

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Alpine announced on Wednesday morning in the aftermath of the Miami Grand Prix that Franco Colapinto will be replacing Jack Doohan.

Franco Colapinto has only been handed a five-race deal by Alpine, meaning that he has until the chequered flag waves at the Austrian Grand Prix to prove he’s the man for the job.

Out of the six drivers taking part in their first full Formula 1 season in 2025, Jack Doohan had one of the toughest jobs.

Expectations were set unrealistically high for the 22-year-old as Alpine knew they had Colapinto and Paul Aron to call upon if he didn’t hit the ground running.

Expensive crashes in Australia and Japan were setbacks for Doohan, while the closest he’s come to scoring points was in Bahrain where he ran in the top 10 for a significant portion of the race.

The Miami Grand Prix was the last straw for Alpine, and only hours after Oliver Oakes resigned from his position as team principal, Doohan’s demotion followed.

READ MORE: Who is Alpine reserve driver Jack Doohan? All to know from girlfriend to dad

Franco Colapinto sent Jack Doohan ‘always ready’ warning on his first day at Alpine

Colapinto proved during his short stint at Williams last year that he’s not only quick but extremely popular.

As soon as he was announced as an Alpine driver, thousands of Argentine fans descended on every social media post the team put online, with many calling for Colapinto to be put into Doohan’s seat.

Colapinto also brings plenty of sponsorship from South America, although Doohan also had significant backers.

Speaking to the media, via Motorsport Italia, on his first day as an Alpine driver, Colapinto admitted he was ‘always ready’ to step into Doohan’s car given his previous experience at Williams.

He explained, “My role within the team will be to help, to help with everything I can, to bring the team back to the top, to improve the car as much as possible and to help with everything I can.

“I will be very attentive to whatever happens and obviously always ready if I have to get in the car at some point.

“Doing all the testing, developing the new car, spending a lot of time in the simulator and obviously being ready for anything.

“I’m really happy to be here. It’s a great start to the year, so let’s try to do more.”

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

Franco Colapinto at the centre of Formula 1’s driver market since his Williams debut

Colapinto made his debut at the 2024 Italian Grand Prix in place of Logan Sargeant at Williams.

However, he knew that no matter how well he performed, a race seat in James Vowles’ team was never a realistic option.

Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz had already been signed up for 2025 and are doing a sensational job this year.

However, that meant the Argentine’s camp had to start shopping around the paddock to find their driver a seat.

Sauber were linked with Colapinto before they signed Gabriel Bortoleto although he might have done well to avoid that seat.

Red Bull were also interested in Colapinto when Sergio Perez’s seat was at risk, and even this season, Colapinto was reportedly an option for Racing Bulls when Liam Lawson was struggling.

It will be interesting to see what happens after the 21-year-old’s five-race spell in the car.

Colapinto’s camp is becoming hard to trust in the paddock, but on this occasion, they’ve got the job done by getting their client a Formula 1 race seat.