A driver axing and team principal resignation just six races into a season are not usually signs of a flourishing Formula 1 team, but are Alpine really in crisis?

Oliver Oakes unexpectedly resigned as team boss on Tuesday evening, just a matter of hours before Alpine confirmed the poorly kept secret that Jack Doohan was being replaced by Franco Colapinto for next weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

While initial assumptions that the two situations were related appear to have been wide of the mark, that is not particularly reassuring for what has arguably been the least stable squad on the grid over the last decade.

Following the emergence of the news, Sky Sports F1’s Karun Chandhok and Sky Sports News reporter Craig Slater convened for a special episode of The F1 Show to analyse the situation.

You can listen to the episode via the player above.

What is Alpine’s unorthodox driver ‘rotation’ about?

While much of the F1 media were reporting by Sunday evening at last weekend’s Miami Grand Prix that Doohan had lost his seat to Colapinto, Alpine still managed to spring a surprise as they confirmed the switch.

That was the presentation of the line-up change as a “rotation”, with Colapinto only confirmed as Pierre Gasly’s team-mate for the next five rounds of the 2025 season.

Such an arrangement has rarely been seen in the sport’s recent history, with the team’s choice to make the short-term nature of the deal public also highly notable.

According to Alpine, their thinking is that ahead of a major regulation reset next year, which they hope could result in them catapulting up the grid, they want to assess their young driver pool now to ensure having the strongest line-up in place for 2026.

Slater explained: “Alpine also think they are going to have a good package next season. They have Mercedes engines and their chassis is already very good.

“They might be one of a quartet of teams that could fight for the championship next year. Some people are even linking Max Verstappen with a move to Alpine, although that seems far-fetched at the moment.

“They believe in Gasly and want to evaluate the best driver pairing for 2026.”

Is Colapinto deal all about money?

There is a more sceptical view of the five-race deal, which is all about money.

Colapinto started impressively during a nine-race cameo for Williams at the end of last season and quickly attracted significant sponsorship and popularity from his native Argentina.

Along with his driving potential, his standing in the South American market would have played a significant part in Alpine executive director Flavio Briatore paying what was believed to be a fee of €4.5m (£3.8m) to sign Colapinto from Williams on a five-year loan.

Slater said: “What I’m learning is that the financial compulsions in all of this have played a big part in him being swapped in for Doohan.

“The type of cash that Alpine can get is pretty significant. They did pay a fee to Williams to get Colapinto on this five-year loan deal, we believe, and therefore there’s an onus to recoup the money.

“The fact that it’s just for five races is an unusual thing. I think the expectation is that if he does OK, he’ll be there for the rest of the year.”

The five-race deal should trigger lucrative sponsorship deals and will give Alpine the opportunity to ensure the funds they are expecting arrive.

Was Doohan unfortunate and is his F1 career over?

Doohan appeared to be something of a dead man walking before his rookie F1 campaign even began, with Alpine’s January signing of Colapinto as reserve driver starting rumours that the Australian was on borrowed time.

With that backdrop, he was under huge pressure to perform, and while there were flashes of speed, two big crashes, along with a retirement in Miami, left him vulnerable.

While, in theory, the fact the team are describing the change as a ‘rotation’ gives Doohan hope of a return to the seat, there is a suspicion the next opportunity would go to Alpine’s other young reserve driver, Paul Aron.

Slater said: “They’ve had a look at Jack Doohan. It’s not out of the question, apparently, but I think it’d be pretty far-fetched for him to come back in the car.”

“There’s also Paul Aron and there’s Colapinto. Aron and Colapinto have had four tests this season in 2023 equipment, so they’ve been able to look at both of their capabilities and fitness for the job, potentially next year.”

Chandhok believes the patience with which Doohan has dealt with the uncomfortable situation the team placed him in is a result of them still providing his most likely path back onto the grid.

Chandhok said: “With Cadillac coming in, there’s obviously a lot of rumblings about the driver market, but I’m not hearing Jack being at the top of anyone’s list.

“I think his best option really is if Colapinto struggles and they go off, and give Jack a bunch of testing and give him a chance to improve a bit more.”

‘Something rotten’ behind Oakes’ resignation?

The timing of Oakes’ resignation led most to jump to the logical conclusion that he had quit due to discontent at Briatore making a driver switch he didn’t agree with. However, that was not the case.

Briatore released a statement on Wednesday insisting the pair’s relationship was in a strong place and that the resignation was for “personal” reasons, while Oakes backed it up with a statement of his own.

Speaking shortly before the statements had been posted on Instagram, Chandhok shared his suspicions on the situation.

He said: “I smell a rat. I think there’s something more rotten in the state of Alpine.

“He hasn’t quit based on just a driver decision here. He’s not quit the chance to be one of the 10 team principals of the top of the sport, based on who’s going to be in the second seat.

“So for me, there’s more going on here that hasn’t yet come out in the wash.”

Slater added: “All the indications I’ve been given is that his departure is not necessarily linked to the driver swap. It’s maybe something else.

“Perhaps it’s a convenient moment for him to step aside in the shadow of this.”

Are Alpine in turmoil?

There has been no shortage of drama at Alpine in recent years, with Oakes the fourth team boss to exit since the start of 2021.

There have been many other high-profile departures in technical and executive departments, while the team fumbled a potentially superb driver line-up of Fernando Alonso and Oscar Piastri as both were allowed to leave at the end of 2022.

Despite that instability, Alpine attracted €200m (£170m) worth of backing from a group of investors, including Hollywood stars and sporting greats such as Rory McIlroy and Anthony Joshua.

2025 is the final season in which the Renault Group-owned outfit will operate as a works team, with Renault having announced last year the cancellation of their plans to manufacture engines for the 2026 F1 season and beyond.

Chandhok questioned whether the team’s recent actions suggest they are gearing up to cash in on F1’s current popularity with a sale in the near future.

He said: “What are they trying to achieve? Because they’re not a works team anymore. They’re trying to brand build, I guess, for Alpine, but it’s not a high-volume car.

“The numbers versus justification is hard to make. Are they just playing the valuation game? In which case, well, sell up now.

“If they’re playing the valuation game, then why not sell it? There’s a lot of things in this whole thing that just don’t add up to me still. I don’t get the overall strategy.”

Slater added: “Maybe something will come of all this chaos which will be positive for Alpine. But at the moment, they need to settle down and put aside all this flux.”

F1’s European season begins with the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on May 16-18, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime