The Colapinto effect: Was Doohan’s performance really that bad?

Written by Augusto Leroux Fernandez, Edited by Meghana Sree

Jack Doohan drove his first seven races as an F1 driver under the immense pressure of having Franco Colapinto as his team’s reserve driver | Credit: Williams F1 (left) Alpine F1 (right)

As the season nears finishing its first third and teams start reflecting on their mistakes so far and areas for improvement, wandering over possible solutions, Alpine rises above other teams as the one that took the highest risks. 

The French team decided to fire Jack Doohan after only six races. But one may ask the question: were they too harsh on him? Let's dive into his performance and see if that was the case.

Doohan's stint in Formula One ended after 272 laps, 215 this year. His highest finishing position was P13 at the Chinese GP, and his average finishing place across most races was fifteenth. He never managed to get into Q3 and collected two retirements after suffering accidents. 

Doohan's contract as a regular driver for Alpine ended after six races and no points | Credit: Alpine F1

However, his teammate (the experienced Pierre Gasly) didn’t outperform him by much: in the six races he shared with the Australian, he finished P13 three times, and his best was P7 at Bahrain after qualifying in fourth place. He did not finish in Saudi Arabia after crashing with Yuki Tsunoda and got disqualified in China.

Given that both drivers had their fair share of struggles, what happened for the team to take such a drastic decision and drop Doohan after less than a third of the season? The answer is simple: Franco Colapinto.

The Argentine wonder kid first stole the spotlight at Monza last year, as he stepped up to replace Williams driver Logan Sargeant. With less than a week’s notice and only one free practice in Silverstone months before, the 21-year-old managed to finish twelfth after qualifying P18. 

At Baku, one of the most challenging stops in the calendar, he secured his first points as he crossed the finish line eighth and was congratulated by Lewis Hamilton himself. In Singapore, he was able to defend against Sergio Pérez and his Red Bull, which earned him praises from the Mexican during and after the race. 

Colapinto scored his first points in Baku’s street circuit, one of the toughest venues on the calendar, on his second F1 race ever | Credit: Williams F1

Although the season ended on a low for him (he retired from three of the last four races and crashed several times), his quick adaptation really changed the perspective some teams have on their rookie drivers and the time needed to get used to the car and F1. 

Three races were needed for the best in the sport to say the Argentine deserved a spot on the current grid: “I think he’s earned his right to be here,” said Hamilton, while Max Verstappen also commented: “Does he deserve a place on the grid? With what he has shown so far, I think so.”

But, as Williams had already signed Carlos Sainz for 2025, and they wouldn’t dare to break his or Alex Albon’s contract, the Grove team lent Colapinto to Alpine as a test and reserve driver. The fact that the contract was five years long didn’t go unnoticed, as it put extra pressure on Doohan, who started the season knowing he had to adapt to F1 in just six races.

In recent years the grid has seen quick firings and driver replacements mid-season (especially from the Red Bull team), but most of the times the adaptation was expected to last at least half a season. Yet it seems that with Colapinto’s amazing run of maiden races, both the public, the media, and team heads now expect a much quicker adaptation process from rookies.

Franco Colapinto’s impact wasn’t limited to the track. He brought thousands of people from South America to the sport and revolutionised Williams’ social media reach | Credit: Williams F1

So, was Doohan’s form that bad? Probably not, seeing that even a driver as experienced and talented as Gasly is struggling with Alpine’s current car configuration. The real problem was that he competed not only with a social media phenomenon (Colapinto’s influence and impact on the South American F1 market is certainly unprecedented and to be taken into account) but with a driver that performed outstandingly from the start and who, even with his flaws (a tendency to take the car past its limit), was praised by the best of the best for his speed, defence and talent. 

Now, two new questions arise: Will Franco Colapinto live up to the expectations he himself created on track, or will he fall short? And, after  Alpine themselves have said his seat is secured for only five races, where is the sport heading with its rookies?