‘Rumours in the paddock’ claim Flavio Briatore didn’t sign Jack Doohan for solely sporting reasons

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Jack Doohan will partner Pierre Gasly in a new line-up at Alpine next season. Doohan is one of three rookies already confirmed for the 2025 grid alongside Oliver Bearman and Kimi Antonelli.

Unlike Bearman and Antonelli, who graduate straight from F2, he steps up from a reserve driver role. Doohan has impressed Alpine with his commitment, and that’s now been rewarded.

He will replace Esteban Ocon at Enstone after the team mutually agreed to part ways with the Frenchman. While relations clearly became strained, Ocon has set a high bar for Doohan with one win, three podiums and 427 career points.

Alpine’s first choice was Carlos Sainz, but he signed for Williams instead ahead of his Ferrari exit. Sainz previously raced for the team when they were known as Renault, but may have been put off by their evident instability.

Oliver Oakes became the team’s third different team principal in the space of a year when he replaced Bruno Famin in the summer. Oakes runs the team day-to-day while F1 veteran Flavio Briatore advises Renault CEO Luca de Meo on the team’s broader direction.

Alpine have parted with a plethora of senior figures and also scrapped their works engine operation at Viry. They will become a Mercedes customer in 2026.

Flavio Briatore’s relationship with Jack Doohan may have settled Alpine seat race

Alpine entered 2024 with both their drivers out of contract, and seemingly concluded that the current partnership wasn’t sustainable. In the end, they backed Gasly, who signed a new multi-year deal, and agreed to let Ocon go.

Gasly and Sainz would have been a dream line-up, but when the Spaniard said no, they were left with limited options. In addition to displaying an excellent attitude as a reserve, Doohan had impressed in the junior formulae.

He finished as the runner-up in Formula 3 in 2021 and also shone in F2, improving from sixth in 2022 to third last year. According to BILD, though, he wasn’t hired solely for sporting reasons.

‘Rumours in the paddock’ suggest that because Briatore is part of his management, he always had an advantage. It wasn’t a surprise that the Italian pushed for his signing.

How Jack Doohan compared against Mick Schumacher in Alpine test

Briatore also has a close relationship with the Schumacher family, but that wasn’t enough to secure a seat for Michael’s son Mick. The former Haas driver has been representing Alpine in the World Endurance Championship this year.

Doohan faced the German in a head-to-head test earlier this year. Toto Wolff heard that Schumacher was ‘super’ in the Paul Ricard outing.

One journalist learned that Schumacher edged Doohan in the long runs, but the Australian was faster over one lap. Alpine may have put the race-pace gap down to the former’s previous F1 experience.

Having only signed a one-year contract, the youngster will be under threat from the outset. Briatore is ready to sign Sainz if he becomes available for 2026, and has made that clear publicly.