Briatore Returns, Doohan Departs: Alpine’s Turbulent Turn

Alpine’s Leadership Carousel: A Pattern of Implosion

The appointment of Flavio Briatore as team principal of Alpine F1 has sent shockwaves through the paddock—not merely because of who he is, but what his return represents for a team already spiraling in disarray. Briatore steps into the top role following the resignation of Oliver Oakes, who had assumed the position only in August 2024, marking yet another rapid change at the helm.

That makes five team principals in five years. Each arrival and departure has been shrouded in vague language and PR speak, with no concrete vision ever emerging. This isn’t just a game of musical chairs—it’s a symptom of a structure in free fall. While the press release cited Oakes’ “personal decision” to leave, the reality is Alpine’s leadership is caught in a revolving door, and every exit leaves the team more confused than the last.

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The Return of the Exiled: Flavio Briatore’s Second Act

Flavio Briatore’s name evokes strong opinions, and rightly so. In 2008, he orchestrated the infamous Crashgate—ordering Nelson Piquet Jr. to deliberately crash at the 2008 Singapore GP so Fernando Alonso could win. The FIA banned Briatore from F1 indefinitely in 2009, a punishment later overturned by a French court in 2010 on procedural grounds. Still, the moral verdict remained: Flavio was out of bounds.

Yet in 2024, he re-entered the paddock quietly as an “executive advisor” at Alpine—an eerily familiar role to Helmut Marko’s at Red Bull. Many saw this as symbolic. Now, in 2025, he’s officially Alpine’s Team Principal. What does this say about F1’s commitment to ethics and long-term vision?

Briatore’s re-entry sets a troubling precedent. If someone banned for orchestrating race manipulation can return to the helm of a major team, what message does this send to younger drivers, to fans, and to the sport at large?

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Doohan Dropped: Another Victim of Alpine’s Driver Chaos

The Flavio regime began with a bang—and for Jack Doohan, it ended with a sledgehammer. The young Australian was demoted just six races into the 2025 season, despite showing genuine promise. His results, when benchmarked against teammate Pierre Gasly, weren’t glaringly poor. In fact, they were comparable—a huge achievement for someone in only his second F1 stint.

Doohan never got a full season. He skipped the 2024 Abu Dhabi GP. He was handed a five-race contract, an alarm bell in itself. That short leash screamed one thing: Alpine already had someone else in mind. And that someone was Franco Colapinto.

Colapinto’s promotion isn’t the issue—his raw speed is undeniable, and yes, 2024 was a strong year for him. The problem is the way Doohan was discarded. Young drivers today don’t just race the stopwatch—they race against boardroom politics. This decision will discourage emerging talent, painting Alpine as a team where merit is optional and agendas run deep.

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Is Pierre Gasly Next?

If Doohan can be cut this quickly, no seat at Alpine looks safe—especially not Gasly’s. The Frenchman has had an uneven run in 2025, and with Briatore now in charge, there’s no telling how long the leash is. Gasly might have experience on his side, but he doesn’t have job security.

Oscar Piastri’s decision to jump ship before racing a single lap for Alpine looks wiser every day. He dodged not just poor car performance, but a political quagmire. We all remember that tweet.

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A Team in Decline, A Warning to the Sport

Alpine’s issues are no longer just technical—they’re cultural. Their driver development is erratic, their leadership directionless, and their appointments increasingly chaotic. The team is betting on a future powered by Mercedes engines in 2026, but no power unit can fix a broken system.

Flavio Briatore’s re-emergence is polarizing not just because of his past, but because it symbolizes a dangerous normalization of past offenses. Meanwhile, promising talents like Doohan become pawns in a game of vanity, ego, and unaccountable decisions.

In a season where Sainz is still settling into Williams, Hamilton is figuring out Ferrari, and Tsunoda is finding his place at Red Bull, Doohan deserved time. Alpine gave him five races. Then silence.

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Final Thoughts

Alpine’s fall from grace is unfolding in real-time—and the implications go far beyond Enstone. What’s happening here isn’t just about one team. It’s a cautionary tale for what F1 risks becoming when strategy is replaced by spin and vision by vanity.

Flavio in. Doohan out. Gasly vulnerable. Colapinto under pressure.

The question isn’t just whether Alpine can recover. It’s whether the sport can afford to ignore the signals.

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Thanks for reading this edition of Lights Out.

See you in Imola for another lap through the chaos of Formula One.