Briatore back with bang as Alpine axe Doohan for Colapinto after six races.
The Alpine Formula 1 team have announced that Argentinian Franco Colapinto will replace fellow youngster Jack Doohan for the next five races.
7 May 2025
Frank Dalleres
City AM

On Tuesday, it was revealed that British team principal Oliver Oakes had resigned as team principal after just nine months in the role, with executive director Flavio Briatore assuming his responsibilities. “Having reviewed the opening races of the season, we have come to the decision to put Franco in the car alongside Pierre for the next five races,” said Briatore.

“With the field being so closely matched this year, and with a competitive car, which the team has drastically improved in the past 12 months, we are in a position where we see the need to rotate our line-up. We also know the 2026 season will be an important one for the team and having a complete and fair assessment of the drivers this season is the right thing to do in order to maximise our ambitions next year.”

“We continue to support Jack at the team, as he has acted in a very professional manner in his role as a race driver so far this season. The next five races will give us an opportunity to try something different and after this time period we will assess our options.”

‘Briatore back with bang’;

https://www.cityam.com/briatore-back...ter-six-races/


Oliver Oakes resigned as team principal over what Alpine ‘leaked’ about Flavio Briatore after the Miami Grand Prix
7 May 2025
Kyle Archer
F1 Oversteer

Oliver Oakes quit as team principal after Alpine ‘leaked’ Flavio Briatore sacked Jack Doohan in Miami. Now, however, Auto Action has reported that Oakes quit as the Renault-owned crew’s team principal mere hours after Alpine ‘leaked’ that Briatore sacked Jack Doohan on Sunday night at the Miami Grand Prix. Reserve driver Franco Colapinto has now taken over the drive, too.

Oakes was ‘the loudest voice’ defending Doohan inside Enstone after Briatore put more and more pressure on the Australian to deliver in his rookie F1 season after Alpine paid Williams £8.5m to sign Colapinto. Briatore also overruled Oakes to get the Argentine over to Enstone. So, Alpine now leaking that Briatore sacked Doohan after his Miami GP retirement following his first lap crash with Racing Bulls racer Liam Lawson proved to be the final straw for Oakes. He is also ‘not a big fan’ of Colapinto and Oakes did not want the 21-year-old to be at Alpine.

‘Final straw for Oakes’;

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/oli...mi-grand-prix/


Our verdict on Alpine's team boss exit and driver swap mess
May 7, 2025
The Race

The months of uncertainty over Jack Doohan's position and then the abruptness of his exit already put the Alpine Formula 1 team in a negative light. And then - on the evening before Franco Colapinto's long-awaited arrival in Doohan's old seat was actually announced - team principal Oli Oakes quit. Here are our team's snap takes on the wild events at Alpine.

Jumping ship seems a wise move - Gary Anderson
Will the real architect of Alpine's chaos please stand up? - Scott-Mitchell Malm

What else did you expect? - Ben Anderson
Sympathy for Colapinto - Matt Beer

Proof Alpine is prioritising financial concerns over sporting - Edd Straw
Briatore's track record speaks for itself - Josh Suttill

‘Wild events at Alpine’;

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/o...ver-swap-mess/


Ocon’s efforts in Miami undone by missed VSC pitstop
06/05/2025
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com

Esteban Ocon cut a frustrated figure in Miami’s sultry evening air after last weekend’s race, the Haas driver left to rue a stroke of bad luck that turned a promising Grand Prix into a disappointing 12th-place finish. After a stellar Saturday in qualifying saw him storm into Q3 for the first time in 2025, and starting P9, Ocon had every reason to believe he could add to Haas’ points tally.

But as the checkered flag fell, it was a case of what might have been for the Frenchman, whose race was undone by an ill-timed pitstop and a car just shy of the pace needed to challenge the front-runners. The Miami Grand Prix was a chaotic affair, with three Virtual Safety Cars shaking up strategies. Ocon, however, missed the memo on fortune. While others capitalized on VSC periods to pit, his one and only stop came under full-speed conditions, costing him dearly

‘Frustrated figure in Miami’;

https://f1i.com/news/537955-ocons-ef...c-pitstop.html


‘It was a solid race but we lacked a bit of pace’ – Ocon sums up his P12 in Miami
4 May 2025
Formula One - Official Site (Video)

Despite starting P9, Esteban Ocon was unable to hold on for a points finish in Miami and said Haas just need to bring “more performance to the car”.

“Lacked a bit of pace”;

https://www.formula1.com/en/video/it...29356936896696


Bearman still waiting for confirmation on cause of his DNF
4 May 2025
Formula One - Official Site (Video)

Oliver Bearman’s Miami Grand Prix ended on Lap 28 when he lost drive on his Haas and was forced to pull off the track and retire.

‘Cause of his DNF unconfirmed’;

https://www.formula1.com/en/video/be...26377603377982


Alonso on P15 in Miami: ‘We expected a tough race – and it was’
4 May 2025
Formula One - Official Site (Video)

Fernando Alonso said Aston Martin “need to regroup now” after a difficult race in Miami that saw him finish 15th, just one place ahead of his team mate Lance Stroll.

“Need to regroup now”;

https://www.formula1.com/en/video/al...28865869967970


Fernando Alonso relying on 'chaos' to avoid equalling unwanted record
Fernando Alonso had a relatively quiet weekend in Miami as his wait for points goes on at the start of the season.
6 May 2025
Jake Nichol & Ian Parkes
RacingNews365

The two-time world champion detailed some near-misses for his side of the Aston Martin garage, and felt the opportunities must be taken. "In Japan, I was P11, Jeddah was perfect and we have three or four opportunities in the year when chaos is happening to have the possibility to score points," Alonso told media, including RacingNews365.

"There have already been three this year in Australia, I had the mistake in the gravel and went off, in China, there were three cars disqualified, and I had a brake fire and [in the Sprint], the track was dry but we kept with the inters for too long. So we've missed out on three opportunities to score points, and there are going to be one or two more, I guess, in the season, so let's hope not to miss those.”

"I'm trying my best behind the wheel, but it is a good question for the managers, they know what is in the pipeline," he added when asked about any upgrades to turn the season around. They work really hard, and we support them, but we cannot talk about the technicalities of the car and upgrades because we are not in the loop every week."

‘Relying on chaos';

https://racingnews365.com/fernando-a...nwanted-record


Why one F1 team should write off 2025, go all-in for 2026 – and Max Verstappen
Aston Martin have had a difficult start to the 2025 Formula 1 season, and it might be in the team's best interests to write the current season off and focus all efforts on 2026.
May 3, 2025
James Reeve|
Beyond the Flag (Weblog)

Why Aston Martin should go all-in next year. The most obvious reason has been the recent arrival of legendary designer Adrian Newey after his nearly 20-year relationship with Red Bull. Newey is busy working away on designing Aston Martin's 2026 car and is not said to be involved with the 2025 car in any capacity.

Lawrence Stroll paid a lot of money to bring Newey from Milton Keynes to Silverstone and expects the team to take a significant leap forward with him as technical director. If the team is to take full advantage of having Newey on board, then putting all resources into the 2026 car could make a significant difference.

That's doubly important with Aston Martin changing over to Honda as their engine supplier, with whom Newey has had plenty of success over the past few years with Red Bull. As well as the new staff and partners that will play a key role in 2026, Aston Martin recently started working with a brand-new wind tunnel. It has reportedly opened the team's eyes to some of the issues with the 2025 car already.

‘Write off 2025, go all-in for 2026’;

https://beyondtheflag.com/why-one-f1...max-verstappen