Alpine F1 Team has clarified its position around Australian Jack Doohan's debut season.
Doohan was announced as the team's newest driver in August, replacing Esteban Ocon.
The son of champion motorcycle racer Mick, Doohan made his F1 debut at last year's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix but will partner Pierre Gasly full-time at the French constructor for the upcoming season on a one-year contract.
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Jack Doohan undergoes a seat fitting in the Alpine garage during the 2024 F1 season. Getty
In November rumours began circulating that Alpine was pursuing a different rookie driver in Franco Colapinto to drive for the 2025 season, and those reports are yet to go away.
Adding intrigue, Alpine signed Colapinto as its reserve driver for 2025 and beyond on a multi-year deal.
To acquire the Argentine's services, Alpine has "entered into an agreement" with Williams Racing to take him on loan.
Franco Colapinto talks with his race engineer on the grid ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix. Kym Illman via Getty Images
Now, Alpine has clarified its position on Doohan's future with team boss Oliver Oakes saying that the 22-year-old will be afforded a "fair crack" to prove his worth.
"It's been a little bit harsh on Jack, some of the stuff that was written by the keyboard warriors there, and he's getting his fair crack at it next year," he told the James Allen on F1 podcast.
"I think the intention there isn't to put [pressure] on his shoulders. It's genuinely to give the team options further down the line."
While Oakes' comments were good-natured, he made no guarantee that Doohan would hold his place.
He continued: "For me, F1 is fine margins. There's a load of people who are depending on a driver to deliver each weekend, and we need to make sure we've got the best drivers in the race car, not just now, but also in the future".
The 21-year-old Colapinto emerged as a key piece in last year's driver market puzzle after impressing pundits in his nine grand prix appearances after he replaced axed Williams driver Logan Sargeant.
Despite his limited experience, Colapinto rivalled teammate Alex Albon during his time on the grid — scoring five championship points compared to Albon's eight in a six-race period.
But while his rookie performances were exciting, three retirements in his last four races, including costly crashes in Brazil and Qatar, meant Colapinto failed to land a seat for 2025 despite huge interest from rival teams.
From Alpine's perspective, there appears not to be much that separates Colapinto and Doohan performance-wise.
Doohan has more junior racing experience and is already embedded in the Enstone-based squad having been a member of the team's junior academy since 2022.
The sudden departure of fellow Aussie Oscar Piastri from the set-up ahead of the 2023 season also saw Doohan signed as the team's reserve and test driver. He has since gone on to complete many hours of private testing in previous-spec Alpine cars.
However, Colapinto has several big-money sponsors, and with F1's popularity exploding in Argentina off the back of his debut, there is scope for his profile to grow further as the country's sole driver on the grid.
But despite the noise, Doohan is pushing ahead with his preparations for the upcoming season, undergoing his seat fitting for Alpine's new-season car, the A525.
