Why Colapinto will be “stronger” for taking race seat at turbulent Alpine

This weekend Franco Colapinto will compete in his first grand prix since Abu Dhabi last year, having taken Jack Doohan’s race seat at Alpine.

The Enstone-based organisation has acquired a reputation for operational chaos since Renault reacquired it in 2016, having gone through one total rebrand and a litany of technical directors and senior management. Most recently, the former team principal Flavio Briatore returned as ‘executive advisor’ with Oliver Oakes joining from his own Hitech organisation to fulfil the team principal role – only to step down with immediate effect last week on the eve of Colapinto’s swap with Doohan being announced.

Any connection between those two events remains the subject of speculation. Oakes’s brother was charged with “transferring criminal property” at the beginning of the month after being found by the Metropolitan Police “in possession of a large amount of cash”.

The latest turn of events has done little to diminish the impression of a team in a state of crisis. But James Vowles – whose Williams team nurtured Colapinto as part of its young driver programme and elevated him to a race seat last year before releasing him to become Alpine’s test and reserve driver – believes Colapinto can still thrive in such an environment.

“Is it in a turbulent time? Yes no doubt about it,” Vowles told select media including Autosport.

“Will they [Alpine] be supportive to Pierre [Gasly] and Franco? Yes I think they will as well because they’re still the elite athletes that are driving for them in order to score the most points you can.

“What normally happens, even in a turbulent time, is you still support your drivers. I actually think the learning is invaluable whether it’s in that team or elsewhere.

“It’s time on track, it’s time in a difficult environment – and if you come out of it you’ll only be stronger as a result. And Franco is strong, so I think it’s still the right place for him to be at this stage.”

Despite showing impressive pace in nine grands prix for Williams last year, having replaced the struggling Logan Sargeant, Colapinto had no immediate prospects of racing for that team again since it had already recruited Carlos Sainz to join Alex Albon. Shifting teams was a better option as it was widely rumoured that Doohan’s contract only guaranteed a set number of races before his position was reassessed.

Colapinto has also been given a ‘window’ of five races, so his future is far from guaranteed.

“There’s a reason we were really happy to do a transaction with Alpine,” said Vowles, “because I really do think it’s his best chance of being in a racing seat, either in 2025 – or we thought, more specifically, ’26.

“I’m proud he was part of our academy and that we have a responsibility towards why he’s now on the grid today. What you saw with us is he got up to speed very quickly.

“I know he’s immensely quick, so I think irrespective of whatever deadline they [Alpine] have set, he’ll do a good job in that period of time.”