The Argentine driver had some high points during a nine-race stint replacing Logan Sargeant at Williams at the back end of last year, scoring points twice – and at his peak was linked with a move to the Red Bull family that would have included a start at Racing Bulls with the potential of a step up to Red Bull in the short term.
However his star began to fade with multiple low points, including crashing heavily three times to rack up a huge damage bill for the British team.
When speaking about why Williams had released Colapinto, whom they had signed on a long-term deal that would have seen him step back to reserve given Carlos Sainz had already been signed to partner Alex Albon, boss James Vowles explained it was effectively a loan because he wanted to find a way to get Colapinto a race seat as soon as possible while having the option to recall him in the future.
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“I wanted him to be racing in 2025 or 2026,” he said. “The best chance he has is with Alpine, as far as [getting a race seat in F1], that’s why he’s there. And I don’t mean that to the detriment of Jack. I hope Jack has a successful time.
“But ultimately, Franco is my driver that I want back in the car. 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.”
Amid the growing noise around the potential for a swap, Alpine have tried to downplay the chances as they focused on giving Doohan the support to prove he should be their race driver for the foreseeable.
