It’s once again official — Australia will have two drivers on the Formula 1 grid in 2025 after it was confirmed that Jack Doohan will debut for Alpine.
The F1 rumour mill was kicked into overdrive recently after reports that Alpine could look to snub the Aussie for impressive Williams star Franco Colapinto.
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Having been drafted in for Logan Sargeant, who had failed to score any points this season, Colapinto has taken the same car to five points in just six races.
With Carlos Sainz signed for Williams to partner Alexander Albon, it left many on the F1 grid questioning how the Argentinian could be left without a seat next year.
While most seats have been decided — seemingly only Red Bull hasn’t decided their line up — it would require someone to be axed.
And it seems like last in, first out comes to mind as Alpine were linked with dumping Doohan, despite promoting him after Esteban Ocon announced his move to Haas.
The 21-year-old son of five-time MotoGP world champion Mick Doohan had long been linked to the seat but the questions around Colapinto led to some big questions for Alpine.
But Alpine have all but confirmed Doohan will debut, announcing the young Aussie’s number for next season.
Alpine announced it was “drawing No. 7 for 2025” in a casino-themed reveal.
With Doohan sliding a Jack — get it — and a seven, Doohan said: “So that’s it — No. 7 will be my race number for 2025. Super psyched, I really wanted to go with a number I raced with before that had meaning for me. I raced with No. 7 in 2019, and also one of my idols and a super special person and driver Kimi Raikkonen, who also drove with that number. I’m really looking forward to continuing it on and making it my own and getting some luck from No. 7.”
Doohan reportedly initially wanted 12 but Alpine were too slow with Mercedes reserving the number for its own debutant Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
Alpine had attempted to pour cold water on the rumours when it posted “2025 in progress” on a video of the 21-year-old training.
But it did little to stop the rumours as former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone joined the chorus of calls for Alpine to make the call.
With Auto Bild reporting that Doohan’s one-year deal is only guaranteed for the first five races of 2025, Ecclestone suggested it wouldn’t take much to break the deal.
“In Formula 1, anything is possible. Until the money is in the bank,” he said.
On paper, Colapinto and Doohan are pretty similar.
Doohan has more junior racing experience and is already embedded in the Enstone team, having spent this year as its reserve driver and having logged 5000km of private testing in previous-spec Alpine cars.
Colapinto is relatively less tenured but would arrive with contemporary Formula 1 experience.
He also counts several big-money sponsors on his side, and with Formula 1’s popularity exploding in Argentina off the back of his debut, there would be scope for his portfolio to grow further.
Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has already suggested the sport could return to Argentina in the short-term future to capitalise on the new wave of support.
A pay driver — albeit one who clearly deserves a place on the grid — would be attractive to Alpine, which has been embarking on a cost-cutting drive by parent company Renault after years of underwhelming performances.
The French manufacturer announced earlier this year it would be shuttering its expensive power unit division to become a customer team from 2026.
However, Colapinto is considered an outside chance of moving to Alpine with Red Bull also reportedly in the mix.
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