Alpine set to benefit from off-track Franco Colapinto ‘boom’ after making Jack Doohan swap

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The upcoming Emilia Romagna Grand Prix is set to witness the return of Franco Colapinto to the Formula 1 grid.

Franco Colapinto will be making his debut for Alpine after replacing Jack Doohan after the first six race weekends of the season.

The Australian failed to score a point in any of his outings for Alpine and had several high-profile accidents during his short spell alongside Pierre Gasly.

Doohan was unhappy that he took full responsibility for his crash in Japan, hitting the barriers at high speed after attempting to keep his DRS open going into the first corner.

It means for the second time in his short Formula 1 career, Colapinto will be making a debut in Italy having earned his first start for Williams at Monza last year.

Alpine signed Colapinto on a long-term loan from Williams over the winter, and while he was initially brought in as a reserve driver, the feeling was that he was always going to eventually be placed in a race seat.

Colapinto’s promotion coincided with Flavio Briatore taking over team principal duties from Oliver Oakes, and it’s no coincidence that the veteran Italian was swift to make the change.

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Alpine expecting Franco Colapinto merchandise ‘boom’ ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix

Briatore is no stranger to making driver changes, infamously signing Michael Schumacher from Jordan after just a single race.

Even Schumacher didn’t always see eye to eye with Briatore, but it’s hard to argue with his results, having won four drivers’ championships during his time with Benetton and then Renault.

A report from the German outlet Auto Motor und Sport has shared more details about Colapinto’s promotion.

They believe that the decision to promote the Argentine might have been made far earlier than in the aftermath of the Miami Grand Prix.

An advert running in his native Argentina that was released just hours after the announcement highlights that he was expected to make his comeback in Imola, meaning his team must have known for some time that the swap was on the cards.

It’s believed that Colapinto contributes ‘several million’ to Alpine through his sponsors and that number may have already increased after going from reserve driver to an initial five-race contract.

Not only that, but Alpine are expecting to benefit from a ‘boom’ in ‘higher merchandising revenues’ from Argentina thanks to Colapinto’s reappearance on the grid.

However, AMuS also suggest that while Doohan cost Alpine millions in crash damage, Colapinto’s sponsors may not have always paid their bills on time, which might be a small blot on the 21-year-old’s copybook.

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Franco Colapinto has had tricky preparation for his Alpine F1 debut

The role of a reserve driver is difficult, with many dedicating their time to the development of their team’s car.

This means they don’t tend to race in other series, making the step up to Formula 1 increasingly difficult.

Doohan spent more than a year on the sidelines before his Alpine debut, with his FP1 sessions regularly cut short by bad weather.

Colapinto is said to have had several crashes during private testing according to Karun Chandhok, highlighting how hard he’s been pushing the car to try and impress senior Alpine staff.

Paul Aron is said to have been seriously quick in tests as well, which may offer Briatore a third option should Colapinto fail to impress over the next five races.