Last Updated on November 16 2024, 11:23 am
If the latest paddock rumours are to be believed Jack Doohan has a race contract with Alpine for just the first five races of the 2025 season. The Australian has been the team’s reserve driver this year after three seasons in F2 with an end of year best finish of third in 2023.
Alpine announced the promotion of their reserve driver as the F1 summer break drew to a close, some eight weeks after the appointment of Flavio Briatore as the team’s consultant. So unlike with Sauber-Audi, the driver was appointed under the current regime whereas Nico Hulkenberg was signed by the Swiss-German collaboration before Mattia Binotto arrived to replace Andreas Stella.
Just as one of the silliest of silly seasons was drawing to a close, after Lewis Hamilton kicked it off in February in spectacular fashion, along came a certain Argentinian driver who appears to have caused a number of teams to re-evaluate their driver line up for 2025.
Colapinto: A revelation
Franco Colapinto was parachuted into the Williams team after another miserable weekend for Logan Sargeant in Zandvoort. The young Argentinian has been a revelation amongst the F1 folk having scored points in two of his first four racer weekends.
The Williams’ academy driver has not only scored for the team, but his qualifying efforts put him right behind team mate Alex Albon who is highly rated by Williams. Yet the imminent arrival of Carlos Sainz on a multi-year deal has left Williams and Colapinto in a bit of a bind.
Flavio Briatore is keen to recruit Colapinto, even at Jack Doohan’s expense but he has competition for the fancied former F2 driver who has impressed Red Bull boss Christian Horner.
Speculation rose to fever pitch when in the Sao Paulo paddock Christian Horner was seen leaving the Williams hospitality area shortly before the first practice session at Interlagos.
Horner noteable interest in Williams driver
Later the Red Bull boss was asked about the influx of junior drivers coming into F1 this year and next. “I think it’s great to see these juniors doing a great job,” he told Sky F1. “We’ve got Liam Lawson obviously in the VCARB doing a really good job. Oliver Bearman should get a shoutout today because he was impressive.
“I think Franco, again, is a kid that’s doing really, really well. Of course, you’re always keeping an eye on the driver market and I think Franco definitely has got the qualities to be a potential star of the future.”
Horner’s comments follow James Vowles confirmation that Williams are “actively working” with interested teams to find a solution for Colapinto for 2025. Of course Red Bull have two drivers under contract, but insiders close to Dr. Helmut Marko report this week, “I heard that last night Marko was completely fed up,” over the Perez situation.
Dutch F1 journalist Jack Plooij. Speaking on Ziggo Sport’s Race Cafe confirmed, “He [Marko] told Vowles: ‘I’ll throw twenty million dollars [£15 million] in, I want him now. Done.’ A buyout.”
Young F1 driver “admires” Verstappen driving style
Horner and Marko disagree
Yet according to a German veteran F1 reporter it has been Christian Horner driving the Colapinto recruitment process but with Dr. Marko’s backing. “Horner’s favourite [option] is to buy Colapinto from Williams for €20million (£16.7m),” Ralph Bach tells F1-insider.
“Apparently there is a board resolution where they gave him the green light,” he adds. That said there is a difference of opinion between the Red Bull team principal and the Austrian advisor over where Colapinto should driver – Red Bull or V-CARB?
“Lawson is Marko’s favourite. He’s doing a good job as a replacement for Ricciardo,” adds Bach. Yet recent reports of a Red Bull internal test revealed disappointment in Lawson’s lap times when pitched against Sergio Perez which has seen Marko defeated in his push to promote the New Zealander.
Red Bull have found themselves horribly exposed this year as their early season title charge has now fizzled out. Now behind Ferrari and McLaren with three weekends remaining, the world champions will focus on delivering the championship for Max Verstappen.
Andretti F1 breakthrough “imminent”
Max could finish Franco
The problem is the number two seat in the Red Bull garage is not contributing sufficiently to Max’s sterling efforts and neither Lawson or Colapinto look to be a big enough ‘upgrade’ for the team.
Yet Red Bull only have themselves to blame. Carlos Sainz became available this year and the Spaniard has proven that on his day, he is a match for anyone.
At the time team boss Christian Horner was dealing with his own internal difficulties within the organisation, and it could have been the Verstappen’s put their collective foot down given the poor relationship between Carlos and Max’s fathers during their time together at Red Bull’s junior team.
Horner is prepared to risk Colapinto alongside Max, although form Red Bull driver Robert Doornbas fears the young Argentinian could face “mortal embarrassment” alongside the world champion.
F1 drivers sound the alarm: “Everyone is a wreck”
Williams will field cars in Vegas
Williams meanwhile were facing the possibility of one or both of their cars not making the grid next time out in Las Vegas. Team boss James Vowles had said after the disaster that was Sao Paulo: “There’s no team on the grid that can cope with five major accidents in two race weekends. Simply the matter of spares we carry are not sufficient to carry that amount of attrition.”
However now, the team has confirmed to F1’s Lawrence Baretto this will not be the case.
In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), Barretto wrote: “I’ve just chatted to Williams. They tell me there’s no truth to the chatter they won’t be in Vegas after sustaining massive damage via three crashes in Brazil.
“They say they’ll have both cars ready to race in Nevada. That’s an incredible effort from the team and suppliers.”
The Williams car looked quick in Las Vegas in 2023 and now with Colapinto behind the wheel instead of Sargeant, theres a real chance of scoring points. That said, Alpine’s 2-3 finish last time out at Interlagos has pretty much out pay to Williams over hauling them in the constructors’ championship.
F1 rejected for 4th US Grand Prix
Formula One has wanted to crack the United States of America for almost as long as any one can remember. Under the sport’s previous owners, Bernie Ecclestone touted a race in New York City, but the Jersey shore location failed to inspire the promoters, who of course would prefer a 5th Avenue start finish line and the cars travelling through Central Park during the race.
Now with the US Grand Prix at the Circuit of the America’s, the Miami Grand Prix held outside the iconic Dolphin’s Stadium and next up a race along the Sin City strip it appeared the push for more races in the US was over.
However, behind the scenes executives from FOM (Formula One Management) have been secretly negotiating to host another race in an iconic location where Formula One once held the USGP between 1976 and 1983… READ MORE
With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
