Alpine set to swap Jack Doohan for Franco Colapinto at F1 Imola GP after open-mic slip. Franco Colapinto is set to replace Jack Doohan at Alpine starting from the Imola Grand Prix.

The open mic blunder reveals the future of Alpine and Jack Doohan in F1: everything changes at Imola. The Australian driver, still without points and off the pace in races compared to Pierre Gasly, could very soon say goodbye to the grid. In his place, the Argentine prodigy Franco Colapinto, who can count on the support of numerous (and important) sponsors, as well as the favor of Flavio Briatore.

Just weeks after the Liam Lawson– Yuki Tsunoda swap, another seat may be up for grabs. A practice long normalized by the two teams in the Red Bull universe, this time the rumors involve Alpine. The French team, the protagonist of an up-and-down start to the season – only one points finish, in Bahrain, but improving in qualifying – is said to have definitively decided when to move on from Jack Doohan.

The Australian, a second-generation racer (his father Michael “Mick” Doohan is a five-time motorcycle world champion), will take part in his seventh Formula 1 race in Miami. His best result, a thirteenth place in Shanghai, hasn’t been enough to convince management or Flavio Briatore. After the first of the three U.S. rounds of the championship, he could say goodbye to the Circus, leaving the seat to Franco Colapinto.

The open mic and the bombshell on Franco Colapinto
The leak came directly from YPF CEO Horacio Marín, of the Argentine energy company backing the 21-year-old’s career. At the end of an interview given to A24, after dodging numerous questions from journalist Eduardo Feinmann, he let slip a “at Imola” just as the show’s closing theme was playing.

So will Franco Colapinto make his debut with Alpine in Italy? It was in the Bel Paese, at Monza in 2024, that he took part in his first Formula 1 Grand Prix, replacing Logan Sargeant at Williams. A twelfth-place finish immediately gave hope to team principal James Vowles, followed by two points finishes in Azerbaijan and Austin, as well as three retirements in Brazil, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi.

The Grove-based team tried to keep him, but couldn’t guarantee a seat, having long since reached an agreement with Carlos Sainz. The young Argentine talent was therefore linked to several teams on the grid, including Red Bull following Sergio Perez’s departure. In the end, though, it was the French proposal that won over Franco Colapinto, with the promise, perhaps, of returning to the grid in 2025.