Alpine's driver rotation sets a questionable new Formula 1 precedent

While driver rotation isn't banned in F1, it's unheard of for a reason. Splitting races between two drivers tanks each one's ability to compete in the World Drivers' Championship, giving them half as many opportunities as their competitors to score points and move up the rankings. 

High WDC placements help drivers gain fans, sign sponsors and unlock future opportunities. By rotating two drivers and capping their abilities to succeed individually, teams like Alpine make it abundantly clear that they don't care about the World Drivers' Championship. Instead, they're focused on the team-driven Constructors' Championship.

That's bad enough (especially when attracting top drivers in the future), but Alpine's rotation features another problem. Colapinto, while experienced and well-supported, isn't an Alpine driver at all: he's a Williams driver spending a year at Alpine on loan.  

"Ultimately, Franco is my driver that I want back in the car," Williams team principal James Vowles said. "After a period of time, he'll return to Williams. That period of time is not a line set in stone where I can look you in the eye and say it. But I can say he'll be back to Williams at some point."

Alpine could invest in Doohan, its own signed driver, for the 2025 season. Instead, it's choosing to invest in a direct competitor's driver on its own dime.

But why? Briatore alluded to the reason in his official statement. 

"We also know the 2026 season will be an important one for the team," he said, "and having a complete and fair assessment of the drivers this season is the right thing to do in order to maximize our ambitions next year."

That's why: it's all about the future. 2026 and its new car regulations are the real target for Briatore and Alpine. With a brand-new engine and a shuffled field, Alpine believes next year's car can challenge for podiums. It's shuffling its drivers this year to maximize its point haul at their expense.

That's a big gamble from Alpine. The last time F1 saw a regulation shift was in 2022, and Alpine struggled to manage those changes: it fell from 4th place in 2022 to 6th place in 2023 and 2024. It currently sits in 9th place in 2025.

For now, though, it's a gamble Alpine is throwing its weight behind, even while the team's management balks at its audacity. Mere hours before the rotation announcement, Alpine shared that its team principal, Oliver Oakes, would be resigning for personal reasons with immediate effect. 

His backfill? Flavio Briatore, Alpine's biggest rotation champion.

F1 will return with the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at Imola on Sunday, May 18. Colapinto will drive Alpine's second car in that race and Monaco, Barcelona, Montréal and Austria; from there, no one knows which Alpine driver will take the wheel.