The Alpine executive director explained the decision to place the Argentine instead of Doohan and denied an alleged bad relationship with the former director of the French team
Hours later, the 75-year-old Italian businessman, a key figure in the early careers of Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso, shared a warm welcome message for Colapinto, 21 years old. "He's an exciting talent and a guy who was sought after by many teams on the grid. I'm thrilled to see how he grows and develops around the structure," he commented. He also added: "It's his chance to show us what he's capable of as a driver."
After it was confirmed that Franco Colapinto will be Alpine's main driver replacing Jack Doohan for the next Formula 1 event, the team's CEO, Flavio Briatore, broke the silence and explained the reasons behind this decision.
"After analyzing the first races of the season, we've decided to put Franco in the car alongside Pierre (Gasly) for the next five," the Italian declared.
Briatore justified the rotation in the team by pointing out that, with a "grid so evenly matched this year" and with a car that "the team has drastically improved over the last 12 months", they found themselves needing to change the main line-up, giving the Argentine driver a place instead of the Australian.
Meanwhile, Briatore also had words for Jack Doohan, whom he praised for his attitude. "We'll continue supporting Jack, he's acted very professionally in his role as a race driver and we hope this continues," he stated.
In parallel, the previous Tuesday, Oliver Oakes resigned as team principal, which intensified speculation about Franco Colapinto's return to the top level. Briatore also addressed this departure, attributing it to "personal reasons" and dismissing internal conflicts. "We had long-term ambitions to boost the team," he declared. Finally, he assured that he respected and accepted Oakes's decision.
