Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Australian Jack Doohan’s Formula One future looks increasingly uncertain amid speculation the rookie could be replaced at Renault-owned Alpine before the next race at Imola.
Doohan, son of motorcycle great Mick, has yet to score a point in six races this season and one at the end of 2024.
Website Race.com said Alpine were evaluating Doohan’s position following another retirement at Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix.
The 22-year-old has been dogged for months by questions about his future, with Alpine signing Argentine Franco Colapinto from Williams as a reserve before the start of the season.
Colapinto raced nine times for Williams last year as replacement for dropped American Logan Sargeant and scored five points, with a best finish of eighth in Azerbaijan.
Alpine’s executive advisor Flavio Briatore, a boss of the team in its former guises of Benetton and Renault, is a fan of Colapinto and is known to be keen to get him into the race seat.
Team boss Ollie Oakes cancelled his regular media session after Sunday’s race in which Doohan collided with New Zealander Liam Lawson’s Racing Bulls on the opening lap and retired.
Alpine are ninth of the 10 teams in the constructors’ standings.
“As it is today, Jack is our driver along with Pierre (Gasly),” Oakes had said on Friday when asked to confirm Doohan would be in the car at Imola.
“We always evaluate, but yeah, today, that is the case.”
Apart from Doohan’s lack of points and failure to finish higher than 14th, the latest rumour of an impending change were triggered by one of Colapinto’s Argentine sponsors suggesting in an unguarded television moment last month that it would happen for Imola.
He later clarified it was only a personal opinion.
“I’m sure there’s a lot of people in Argentina who’d like him in the car this Sunday,” said Oakes when asked about that on Friday.
“We’ve been pretty open as a team that that’s just noise. Jack needs to continue doing a good job. But it’s natural that there’s always speculation there.”
Doohan said in a team review of the Miami race that he was focusing on the coming European races.
“We have the week ahead to reset and work to prepare for the upcoming triple-header as we head into the start of the European season,” he said.
