‘Everyone knows’ Alpine’s next driver choice with ‘easy decision’ made for F1 2025

Pierre Gasly in the Alpine.

Ted Kravitz believes “everyone knows” that Jack Doohan will take the place left at Alpine by Esteban Ocon next season, to step up to Formula 1.

The 21-year-old Alpine junior finished third in last season’s Formula 2 standings and is looking for a chance to reach Formula 1, with one seat available alongside Pierre Gasly next season as it stands.

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Following the confirmation that Ocon would leave the team for 2025, now joining Haas, the second Alpine cockpit is one that is up for grabs alongside Gasly.

With a new team boss having been put in place, several contenders are likely to be eyeing up that drive, but Sky F1’s pit-lane reporter believes the team have one of the easier decisions on the driver market this year, with the young Australian having performed well in last year’s Formula 2 championship.

When talking about Alpine on a recent episode of the Sky F1 podcast, presenter Matt Baker was discussing the “really big decisions” ahead for new team principal Oliver Oakes, including who will partner Pierre Gasly next season.

At that point, Kravitz interjected and said: “Well, that’s not a very difficult decision. That’s Jack Doohan, but carry on.

“It’s Jack Doohan, everyone knows that.”

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On that front, Alpine also look reportedly set to take on a customer engine deal, having been manufacturers in the sport for quite some time, with Mercedes the reported frontrunners to power the team from potentially 2026 onwards.

In confirming his belief that Doohan will get the nod to partner Gasly next season, Kravitz explained how new team principal Oliver Oakes will need to bring the team together to move it forward.

“Flavio [Briatore] is more or less convinced that a customer engine is the way that Alpine want to restructure what they’re doing and what the Viry-Chatillon factory will be doing going forwards and that they will be taking a customer engine. And the only question is, which one?” Kravitz explained.

“Discussion seems to have started already, and I don’t even think Oakes has to worry about that. It’s too soon for 2025 said Famin to switch to a Mercedes engine.

“So, Viry-Chatillon has next year to do the engine anyway. They can’t really change it, it’s too late now.

“But for 2026, once they sort everything out on the Viry-Chatillon side, which is now Bruno Famin’s new job, to go and convert that factory into whatever he and Luca de Meo and Renault wants it to be, whether he goes with Honda or Red Bull Powertrains, which will rebrand as Ford, or Mercedes or Ferrari, for the future, with Mercedes being the front runner.

“So, I think that what Oakes will have to more concentrate on, I think the driver is more or less done, that’s going to be Jack Doohan; is the engine.

“I think they know where they’re going to go with, it’s just sort of doing a few months, two months or three months, getting to know everybody at that factory, seeing where the strengths are, seeing where they need to build up, and then just providing a new focus and a new sense of direction for that team.”

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