Former Mercedes stalwart and current Williams boss James Vowles feels Franco Colapinto would do just fine at ‘turbulent’ Alpine as he replaces Jack Doohan at the team. The French team has not necessarily been a team with too many good decisions in the last few years.
The manner in which it cut ties with Esteban Ocon was less than perfect. One could argue the same thing with the manner in which they removed Doohan from the seat on a weekend when he outqualified teammate Pierre Gasly. As a team as well, Alpine has been going through turmoil for a few years now.
The team peaked in 2022, which was its perfect year in the ground effect era. That was the season where it finished P4 in the championship. Since then, it has been one key personnel after the other who have left the stage. With Jack Doohan gone, he would be replaced by Franco Colapinto at the team.
The Argentinian has been hired from Williams by Alpine and is rated very highly after the kind of season he put together last season. Franco Colapinto stepped into the car late into the year as Logan Sargeant’s replacement and did not look out of place as a rookie. Talking to the media, including Motorsport, James Vowles backed his driver to rise to the challenge.
Admitting that Alpine is going through a turbulent phase, Vowles backed Colapinto to rise above that and perform. He said (via Motorsport):
“Is it in a turbulent time? Yes no doubt about it. 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.”
He added:
“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.”
Vowles not too bothered by the 5-race deadline for Franco Colapinto
While Franco Colapinto has been picked up by Williams and will be racing for the team from Imola onwards, the Argentinian has been signed for 5 races, according to the Alpine press release. Vowles did not appear to be too bothered by that as he backed his driver to perform. He said (via the aforementioned source):
“There’s a reason we were really happy to do a transaction with Alpine 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.”
He added:
“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.”
Franco Colapinto does have an uphill task in front of him. If he’s able to perform and show that he can put together strong results, he could end up seeing out the rest of the year with the team.
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Edited by Luke Koshi
