Alpine's top leadership, team principal Oliver Oakes and advisor Flavio Briatore, have stopped short of dismissing rumours that the Miami Grand Prix could be Jack Doohan's final Formula 1 race, with Franco Colapinto potentially poised to take his place.
The speculation, driven by Briatore's clear preference for Colapinto, who is on loan from Williams, has persisted throughout the 2025 season.
The rumours gained serious traction earlier this week when Horacio Marin, president of Colapinto's sponsor YPF, inadvertently muttered "in Imola" during a hot-mic moment in a broadcast interview, suggesting the Argentine's debut timeline.
Marin later clarified it was a hopeful remark, not a confirmation.
In Miami, Oakes offered only a lukewarm rebuttal to the speculation. "I'm sure there's a lot of people in Argentina who'd like him in the car this Sunday," he said. "We've been pretty open as a team that that's just noise. Jack needs to continue doing a good job. But it's natural that there's always speculation there."
When pressed directly on whether Doohan would remain in the car for Imola, Oakes replied, "As it is today, Jack is our driver along with Pierre (Gasly). We've been pretty clear on that. We always evaluate, but today that is the case."
Doohan's frustration was evident on track in Miami, where he vented over the radio, exclaiming, "That is not acceptable" and "you guys put me out of Q1," blaming a pitlane incident involving "the other car" (Gasly's).
Speaking to reporters, he attributed his elimination to being "blocked" in the pitlan by his own teammate.
A day earlier, the 22-year-old Australian denied that the rumours were affecting him. "Even in the difficult moments, I never felt affected," Doohan said. "I was surrounded by good people and the team also supported me a lot, so I never had that feeling in my head."
On the Colapinto speculation, he added, "Things (rumours) are always there for a reason. Nothing comes out by mistake."
Briatore, present in the Miami paddock, was asked by Sky Italia if the pressure on Doohan has been excessive. "I think if Doohan is in Formula 1, I don't think he should have the pressure," the 75-year-old Italian responded. "So when they tell me that a driver has pressure because there is another driver who could take his place, it should be a motivation to do well. I arrived at Renault when there was already a contract with Doohan, so I didn't make any difference."
Like Oakes, Briatore avoided a firm denial of a potential switch to Colapinto. "Now we are evaluating," he said.
"Let's see how the next races go and then we will evaluate. We have three drivers, there is also Paul (Aron)—let's see. There is a lot of responsibility for the drivers, as so many other people depend on their results. We have to be fair, but they also have to be fair to us."
When pressed on whether a decision to promote Colapinto in 2025 has already been made, Briatore demurred, "No, but I think we evaluate from time to time. Now we have arrived at the sixth race—the only thing we have to see is to do well in this race here and get at least one car in the points and then we discuss.
"But I don't accept it about saying Doohan is always under pressure. I think the pressure is there for someone who works at Fiat for 2500 euros—or even less—per month. I think they are the ones who are under pressure."
