Alpine confirm Jack Doohan 2026 decision after missing out on Formula 1 return

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Alpine have confirmed that they have reached a mutual agreement with Jack Doohan for the Australian to leave the F1 team after failing to earn a seat for the 2026 season.

Doohan became the first graduate of the Alpine driver academy to get their Formula 1 debut with the team when he replaced Esteban Ocon at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. But Alpine replaced Doohan with Franco Colapinto after just the opening six races of the 2025 season.

Alpine executive adviser Flavio Briatore demoted Doohan back to the reserve driver role that he held during the 2024 season for the rest of 2025, with Colapinto seeing out the term next to Pierre Gasly. Alpine also confirmed in November that Colapinto will race for them in 2026.

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Alpine confirm Jack Doohan has left the F1 team ahead of the 2026 season

Doohan was in line to regain a race seat for Alpine had Briatore elected to replace Colapinto, who did not score a single point over his 18 outings in 2025. Doohan and Colapinto were the only ones to fail to score a single point during the 2025 season out of the 21 drivers last year.

READ MORE: Who is Jack Doohan? All you need to know, including his MotoGP icon dad

Now, Alpine have announced that Doohan has left the F1 team ahead of the 2026 season to pursue “other career opportunities”. Alpine have also thanked Doohan for his “commitment and professionalism” across his four years with the team after joining their academy in 2022.

An Alpine statement on X confirming Doohan’s exit read: “Alpine confirm we have reached a mutual agreement with Jack Doohan to not continue his driving services with the team for the 2026 FIA Formula 1 season and allow him to pursue other career opportunities.

“The team would like to thank Jack for his commitment and professionalism to the team for the past four years, both on and off track, and wishes him all the best for the future.”

Jack Doohan is expected to return to F1 as Haas’ 2026 reserve driver

Doohan failed to convince Briatore that he deserved to retain his race seat with Alpine in the 2025 F1 season, as he could not match Gasly’s early results. The Australian crashed out of his home race as Gasly took P11, and he later finished P14 while Gasly sealed P7 in Bahrain.

The Gold Coast native continued to play a key role behind the scenes at Alpine for the rest of last year, with his simulator data often a big help in deciding Gasly and Colapinto’s set-ups. Now, Haas are expected to call on Doohan’s talents behind the scenes for the 2026 season.

It emerged on New Year’s Day that Haas have hired Doohan as their 2026 F1 reserve driver, as well as their simulator driver, as his exit from Alpine was already considered a formality. It could also offer him a route back onto the F1 grid, potentially as early as the 2027 campaign.

Doohan is set to contest the 2026 Japanese Super Formula Championship for Realize Kondo Racing, who enjoy close ties with Toyota. Haas also agreed on an increased partnership with Toyota ahead of the 2026 F1 season that sees the Japanese giant become their title partner.