In the interlude between the Miami Grand Prix and the Imola Grand Prix, a concoction of news has emerged from the realm of Formula 1 and the adjacent motorsport world. From Alpine’s internal shake-ups to Carlos Sainz Sr.’s shock announcement that he’s considering a run for the FIA Presidency, here are this week’s main headlines for you in our F1 news roundup for the week up to the 9th of May.
1. Doohan Out, Colapinto In at Alpine
The Enstone based Formula 1 team announced a driver change at the start of the week . It was one that many around the globe had been expecting, but it still managed to shock. After just six Grand Prix, Jack Doohan has been replaced by Franco Colapinto. But in an unexpected twist, the Argentinian, who made his F1 debut last year for Williams, will only be competing for Alpine in the next five Grand Prix. After this, another assessment will be made. That will then decide if he continues in the seat or be replaced, either by Doohan or by another driver.
“As part of an on-going assessment of its driver line-up, the team has made the decision to rotate one of its race seats for the next five rounds of the 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship. BWT Alpine Formula One Team therefore announces that Franco Colapinto will be paired with Pierre Gasly from the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, ahead of a new evaluation before the British Grand Prix in July.” – Alpine F1 Team
Jack Doohan will take up the role of number one reserve driver in the interim. The Australian driver had a highest finish of 13th at the Chinese Grand Prix back in March. Doohan’s best qualifying performance, meanwhile, came two rounds later with an 11th place start in Bahrain.
But Doohan isn’t the only driver that Alpine has in their stable who may get the call up to race for the French-owned team in 2025. Paul Aron, Kush Maini, and Ryo Hirakawa are all currently reserve drivers for Alpine. Their chances of making their F1 debut this year have increased exponentially.
Will we see them compete alongside Pierre Gasly in 2025? We’ll have to wait and see.
Fun Fact: Oscar Piastri has now scored as many points by himself at McLaren as Alpine have accumulated since the team entered Formula 1.
2. Flavio Briatore Returns as Team Principal at Alpine
Earlier this week, Alpine also announced that Team Principal Oliver Oakes – had resigned with immediate effect.
The shock departure fuelled speculation that the former Hitech Team Principal had come to blows with Flavio Briatore. But Briatore was quick to retaliate to the rumours in an attempt to correct the perceived narrative.
“A lot has been said in the past 24 hours incorrectly associating the decision of Oli resigning to an alleged disagreement, or that we shared different views. This is completely false and far from the truth…The reasons are not related to the team and are of a personal nature.” – Flavio Briatore
Oliver Oakes also released a short statement where he reinforced the comments made by Briatore.
“It is a personal decision for me to step down. Flavio has been like a father to me, nothing but supportive since I took the role, as well as giving me the opportunity.” – Oliver Oakes
Briatore will continue in his role as Executive Advisor while also covering the duties belonging to that of a Team Principal while Alpine search for a replacement. This will mean that Briatore will be the team’s fourth team principal since February 2022 when Otmar Szafnauer stepped into the role. He was replaced by Bruno Famin in July 2023. Famin then left the role in August of last year after it was announced that Oliver Oakes would be replacing him.
3. Jochen Mass Passed Away
Former Formula 1 driver Jochen Mass passed away this week due to complications following a stroke he suffered in February, earlier this year.
The German driver made his F1 debut at the 1973 British Grand Prix. His one and only Grand Prix win came at the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix when he raced for McLaren Ford. He overtook Jacky Ickx in the closing stages of the race to claim his maiden win. Carlos Reutemann joined them on the podium, having claimed third place.
It was also in this Grand Prix that Lella Lombardi became the first woman to score points in an F1 Grand Prix when she finished in sixth place.
By the time Mass retired from Formula 1 at the 1982 French Grand Prix, he had a further seven podiums to his name and two fastest laps. He went on to compete in twelve editions the 24 Hours of Le Mans – which he won in 1989.
4. Audi Announce F1 Restructure
Alpine is not the only Formula 1 team that is shaking things up. Ahead of their entry into the sport in 2026, Audi has made a few changes at the top of their F1 food chain.
Mattia Binotto will have his role as Head of the Audi F1 Project expanded to include more responsibilities. This news comes as Christian Foyer joins the team in the newly created position of Chief Operating Officer. This follows on the heels of the departure of Chief Executive Officer Adam Baker.
Binotto became part of the team as the Chief Operating and Chief Technical Officer last summer. His new duties will include being responsible for development activities at the Hinwil and Neuburg an der Donau facilities, alongside a future technical centre in England.
Foyer, meanwhile, has joined the management board of Audi Formula Racing GmbH (AFR) – which is responsible for the F1 hybrid powertrain, with his focus being on operational processes.
The German engineer has worked in operations and project management for various F1 teams and manufacturers for the best part of the last two decades. He will take over operational responsibility for the areas previously managed by Baker. Baker meanwhile was said to be leaving the project by mutual agreement.
5. Juan Manuel Correa to race in Indy NXT
Juan Manuel Correa will join HMD Motorsports for several upcoming events in the 2025 INDY NXT Season, starting this weekend.
The American-Ecuadorian driver will make his debut in the Indianapolis Grand Prix this Friday and Saturday on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. He also will compete in seven event weekends and participate in two oval tests throughout the year as he aims to establish himself in the North American open-wheel racing scene.
“This opportunity is a huge step in my career, and I’m looking forward to applying everything I’ve learned in my previous experiences to the upcoming races.” – Juan Manuel Correa
Correa competed in Formula 2 last year, driving for DAMS Lucas Oil, achieving a highest finishing position of third in the Spanish Feature Race in Barcelona.
6. Carlos Sainz Sr. – The FIA’s Next President?
The FIA Presidential Election will be held at the next FIA general assembly in Uzbekistan on December 12, and current FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem (MBS) may be about to face some stiff competition if he wants to stay in office.
Earlier this week, Carlos Sainz Sr. revealed that he was contemplating a run at the presidency and that he had been approached by a number of people
“This possibility [of being president] has been in my mind for some time now, not very deeply, but now I think it could be the right time in my career for me to take the step. I’m confident I can do a good job and put together an excellent team to give back to the sport part of what it has given me.” – Carlos Sainz Sr.
This news comes hot on the heels of the latest in a line of controversies around MBS and his running of the FIA. This includes the resignation of Deputy President for Sport, Robert Reid, who left due to “a fundamental breakdown in governance standards” and former FIA Chief Executive Natalie Robyn expanding on why she had been forced to resign last year, stating that “professional processes are not adhered to and stakeholders are excluded from decision-making”.
MBS has not yet formally declared his intention to run again. But the Emirati is largely expected to do so. No other potential candidate has yet declared interest.
7. ‘The Seat‘ debuts on Netflix
A new Netflix Formula 1 documentary has been released. It follows the story of how Kimi Antonelli acquired the much sought after Mercedes seat following Lewis Hamilton’s shock departure to Ferrari last year.
The 40-minute feature debuted at a special event prior to the Miami Grand Prix and differs largely in tone and presentation from Netflix’s flagship F1-based series, Drive to Survive.
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Feature Image – Alpine Media Centre