May 16 (GMM) Two former Alpine drivers have heavily criticised the Enstone based team for its treatment of Formula 1 rookie Jack Doohan.
Doohan has lost his race seat after just six career grands prix, with even his replacement Franco Colapinto admitting his slight discomfort.
“It’s never nice circumstances when it happens like this, when you step into another driver’s seat,” said the rookie Argentine. “But you never really choose the moment you do it in Formula 1.
“I just take it, try to do my best and try to maximise it for the job.”
Isack Hadjar, a Red Bull rookie making his debut for the junior Racing Bulls outfit this year, said at Imola that Doohan’s place at Alpine has smelled “fishy” from the outset.
“I didn’t have a gun to my head before the season started, so that helped me, and I’ve had good support from day one,” the French rookie said.
The Doohan-Colapinto seat at Alpine was vacated over the winter by Esteban Ocon, who moved over to Haas. The 28-year-old smiled in the Imola paddock: “I’m happy where I am.”
As for Doohan losing the seat after just six races, the Frenchman added: “Unfortunately, not really any surprise from some of the decisions that have been taken recently by that team. I don’t have much else to say.
“Obviously, sad for Jack,” Ocon said. “He showed some really strong moments this year where he qualified super well and he’s also been super quick in the car – which was good to see.”
Another driver whose relationship with the team turned very sour is Oscar Piastri, whose personal case even ended up at F1’s contract recognition board as Alpine and McLaren argued intensely over the Australian.
“It’s a tough situation,” said the championship leader when asked about Doohan’s demise. “For Jack, he can be proud of what he’s achieved. He still became an F1 driver, and no one can take that away from him.
“It’s a difficult situation, but it’s not really for me to comment on now.”
The McLaren driver, however, did comment on the fact that even Colapinto is only being guaranteed his seat for the next five races. “That’s also not an easy circumstance to come back into F1,” said Piastri.
Multiple other drivers also commented on the harshness of the decision-making at Alpine, where Flavio Briatore has become the de-facto team boss. However, following Oliver Oakes’ sudden departure, Dave Greenwood is now seen by the FIA as the team principal because Briatore lacks the license.
Colapinto was asked if having only five guaranteed grands prix may lead to overdriving and mistakes. “I don’t know,” said the 21-year-old. “We’ll see once I drive.
“But of course, after you heard Carlos (Sainz) saying that he needs like ten races to get used to a car, I think five is not enough for me,” Colapinto admitted. “I’ve only driven nine in my life in F1.
“So yeah, it probably takes me a few more races, probably a couple more than five, to get up to speed and maximise everything out of the car. But it is what I have and I just want to maximise it, enjoy it and try to do the best for the team.”
Colapinto’s teammate Pierre Gasly is at least stable in his race seat, and he played down the chaos on the other side of the garage – and on the pitwall.
“There are no problems in the team,” the Frenchman insisted. “No one has any disagreements with anyone. The headlines don’t reflect what’s going on at the factory.”
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