Alpine cuts ties with Jack Doohan as Aussie eyes fresh route back to F1
Alpine has drawn a line under its four-year association with Jack Doohan, confirming the Australian will not be part of the team’s 2026 plans after both sides agreed to part ways.
Doohan, an Alpine Academy intake from 2022, made his Formula 1 debut at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, stepping in as Esteban Ocon moved on. He kept the seat alongside Pierre Gasly at the start of 2025 but lasted six rounds before the team made its move. Miami was his final start before Alpine swapped him out for reserve signing Franco Colapinto, with Doohan returning to the sidelines.
Neither Doohan nor Colapinto managed to score amid a lean spell for Enstone, and the team has since committed to Gasly and Colapinto for 2026. Doohan, meanwhile, has been released to “pursue other opportunities,” per an Alpine statement that also thanked him for his professionalism and noted he was the first Academy graduate to step into a race seat with the works squad.
It’s a harsh end to a brief chapter. Doohan’s six-race run this year featured flashes of pace but little in the way of hard results. The winds shifted early when Alpine brought in Colapinto—fresh from turning heads with Williams—as reserve. From there, the writing was on the garage wall: the team needed a different roll of the dice.
There’s no sense this decision was contentious. Alpine is restructuring, and continuity with Gasly plus the upside of Colapinto is the bet they’re willing to place into the 2026 rules reset. The team’s form has forced pragmatic calls; they’ve opted for stability and a clearly defined development path.
As for Doohan, the next move looks fairly clean-cut. The paddock drumbeat points to a reserve role at Haas, likely paired with a Super Formula programme—exactly the sort of mileage and sharp-end racing that can harden a driver for another crack at the big time. It’s a sensible play. Super Formula’s calendar and car characteristics make it a favorite proving ground for drivers on the brink, and a factory-adjacent reserve slot keeps him in the simulator and in the room when opportunities pop up.
There’s also the reality of 2026: new regs, new pecking order unknowns, and seats that won’t move until teams see what they’ve really built. Alpine’s choice to lock in Gasly-Colapinto now gives them a clear axis to build around, while Doohan escapes the limbo that often traps third drivers. If he strings together a hard, visible season in Japan and keeps a toe in the F1 water, a 2027 return isn’t fanciful—it’s a plan.
Alpine’s note on the split was polite and to the point—mutual agreement, thanks for the effort, and best of luck. The reality underneath is just as straightforward: this was a marriage that never quite had time to find its rhythm, and the calendar doesn’t wait for anyone.
Doohan leaves with six starts, a line on his CV that many promising juniors never get, and a route that can keep his name in the conversation. For Alpine, the picture is equally clear. They’ve made their choice, and now it’s about execution.
Sometimes an F1 career comes down to timing. Doohan’s wasn’t quite right this time. The next one might be.
