Alpine has confirmed Franco Colapinto will race alongside Pierre Gasly for the coming five races.

It’s part of a broader strategy to assess Doohan and Colapinto with a view to 2026.

“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 driver line-up,” said executive advisor Flavio Briatore..

“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.”

That leaves the door open for Doohan to make a return to the grid for the British Grand Prix.

In the interim, the Australian will remain with the squad in a reserve driver role.

“I am very proud to have achieved my lifelong ambition to be a professional Formula 1 driver and I will forever be grateful to the team for helping me achieve this dream,” said Doohan.

“Obviously, this latest chapter is a tough one for me to take because, as a professional driver, naturally I want to be racing.

“That said, I appreciate the team’s trust and commitment.

“We have long-term goals as a team to achieve and I will continue to give my maximum efforts in any way I can to help achieve those.

“For now, I will keep my head down, keep working hard, watch with interest the next five races and keep chasing my own personal goals.”

Though his time on the F1 grid has been dominated by speculation regarding Colapinto, Doohan has maintained a professional demeanour throughout.

He has consistently towed the company line and done well to swat away frequent questions surrounding his future.

His ongoing efforts with the team follow those of the 2024 season, where he turned down an IndyCar deal so he could dedicate himself as Alpine’s reserve driver.

Both Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon praised his efforts at the time, and ultimately proved enough to earn him a race drive in place of the latter this season.