16/08/2025 20:00
Given the fact that he was a rookie driver with a tricky start to
the season with tracks he had never driven on before and a Sprint
race, Alpine's decision to demote Jack Doohan back to reverse
driver was seen as harsh. The Australian had been walking a
tightrope ever since Franco Colapinto was drafted in as a reserve
driver from Williams during the winter, and after the Miami Grand
Prix, Doohan was booted out and Colapinto handed the seat from
Imola. Initially, it was only for a five-race test, with Flavio
Briatore telling the Argentine to "drive fast, score points and
don't crash." Well, he hasn't scored points, has crashed, but has
he driven fast? How does Colapinto stack up against Doohan and the
ever-present team leader, Pierre Gasly? To keep the matter fair, we
have taken the results from the first six races each driver
competed in - so Australia to Miami for Doohan and then Imola to
Britain for Colapinto. We have calculated their average qualifying
deficits to Gasly, average grid positions, head-to-heads and then
done the same for the race and the Sprints. The qualifying times
are made up of the outright fastest times set by each driver and
Gasly in qualifying. Jack Doohan and Franco Colapinto relative to
Pierre Gasly in qualifying Jack Doohan and Franco Colapinto
relative to Pierre Gasly in races Across the two drivers, the
closest either has come to a point was 13th for Doohan in China and
a pair of them for Colapinto in Monaco and Canada. Doohan slightly
has the edge over Colapinto in qualifying, and is, on average,
0.095s closer to Gasly than Colapinto, earning him an average grid
of 15.3, which plays 16.1. However, Colapinto nudges ahead in race
finishes, taking an average finish of 14.4 to Doohan's 14.7.
Doohan and Colapinto in Sprints vs Gasly Sprint races and overall
Again, to keep matters fair, we are only going to count one Sprint
race per driver, so this is China for Doohan and Belgium for
Colapinto. Doohan actually out-qualified Gasly in Shanghai by just
0.065s before going on to be beaten in the Sprint itself, whilst
Gasly demolished Colapinto in Spa Sprint qualifying, but as he
failed to finish the race itself, a 0-0 is registered in the
head-to-head for the 'race'. Overall, it is clear that Doohan's
edge was over one lap in qualifying, with a superior record to
Colapinto, who comes back in the races. However, it must be said
that both drivers have been culpable for big crashes, including
Doohan in Japan practice after keeping the DRS open through Turn 1,
and then Colapinto at Imola on his debut in qualifying. The
difference between the two is negligible, but it appears that
Doohan's full-time career is over, with Colapinto's own future
uncertain.