Jack Doohan Sent Warning By Alpine Advisor Ahead Of His Rookie F1 Season

Saajan Jogia | Jan 1, 2025

Jun 7, 2024; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Australia BWT Alpine driver Jack Doohan (AUS) in the pit lane during the practice session at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images / Eric Bolte-Imagn Images

Flavio Briatore warned Alpine drivers against underperforming this season, as failure to make progress could result in their exit from the team. The statement follows Briatore's appointment as executive advisor by Alpine's parent company, Renault. His remarks may serve as a wake-up call for rookie driver Jack Doohan, especially as Briatore recently showed interest in Williams' reserve driver Franco Colapinto, who delivered an outstanding performance during the second half of the 2024 season.

Amid Alpine's struggles to secure points in recent seasons, Briatore was brought in to help restore the team to its winning form, and his approach remains bold and unconventional. He has long argued that a fast car is more crucial than a championship-winning driver, believing that with the right car, any driver can propel the team to championship success.

This approach was especially evident ahead of the last race of the 2024 season, where former Alpine driver Esteban Ocon was allegedly dropped one race before his official exit, ahead of the Abu Dhabi season finale, in exchange for a post-season test with Haas.

While Alpine suffers from an underpowered engine, it can't be changed in the current ground effect era until the new regulations arrive next year. Briatore is confident that the team will succeed, especially after announcing its recent agreement with Mercedes to purchase power units from 2026, when Alpine becomes a customer team. Speaking about the driver situation in the team and that Doohan and his teammate Pierre Gasly start the season this year in Australia, Briatore told Le Parisien:

“The only thing we can be sure of is death!

“We’ll start the year with Pierre and Jack, I can guarantee that. After that, we’ll see as the season progresses.

“I have to get the team in the right condition to get results and the driver is the one who has to conclude the work of nearly 1,000 people behind him. Everyone works for just two people.

“If there’s a driver who isn’t making progress, who isn’t bringing me results, I change him. You can’t be emotional in F1.”

However, Briatore didn't hold back in praising Gasly, whose stellar performance in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix secured the third spot, followed by a clean racing record in 2024 with zero crashes, which contributed to the team's sixth-place finish in the Constructors' Championship. He added:

 “Pierre has done an extraordinary job. He has surprised me enormously this year. He really is ‘our’ driver.

“I really want to thank him. His attitude has changed completely this season. He’s never had an accident. If we’ve managed to finish sixth, it’s thanks to him.

“I’m sure that Pierre will continue his great work and that Jack Doohan will be up to the challenge.”

Briatore's warning to the drivers could be a sign for Doohan to pull his socks up for his debut F1 season, considering the advisor's recent comments, which suggest that he remains interested in Colapinto, despite talks about signing him falling through towards the end of the 2024 season. The Argentine's power-packed performance impressed all teams on the grid, but his rookie crashes in Las Vegas and Brazil made potential teams hesitant about approaching him. Talking about Colapinto's potential signing with Alpine in the future, Briatore told Auto Motor und Sport, as reported by PlanetF1:

“I’m interested in any driver who is fast.

“If there was an opportunity to get Colapinto for 2026, you have to think about it.”