F1 Today | Doohan dropped for Colapinto and Brundle discusses Verstappen's McLaren rivalry

22:56, 07 May

Updated: 23:09, 07 May

byToby Nixon

Catch up with the biggest stories from the F1 world now on GPblog. Jack Doohan has been replaced by Franco Colapinto at Alpine, Martin Brundle discusses Verstappen's McLaren rivalry and GPblog witnessed Antonelli make a major mistake while testing at Silverstone.

Alpine replacement confirmed: Doohan out for Colapinto

Jack Doohan is being immediately replaced by Franco Colapinto at Alpine just a day after team principal Oliver Oakes resigned from the squad. There had been rumours for some time that the Australian might be heading for the exit, but now the decision is finally official.

Doohan attracted attention last weekend in Miami, after a collision in the first round with Liam Lawson. This ended the race for the Australian. On Monday, GPblog was already able to report that Doohan's position within the team was being evaluated. It is now clear that it's the end of the road for Doohan as a permanent driver.

Argentinian Colapinto will now get his chance. From the next race weekend in Imola, Colapinto will be Pierre Gasly's teammate. It will be his first F1 start since the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with Williams.

Antonelli slips up at Silverstone test day

Kimi Antonelli made a costly error in a Pirelli tyre test today with Mercedes at the iconic Silverstone Circuit. The Italian lost control of his W15 at Luffield Corner but managed to keep the engine running.

The Italian slid straight off the circuit and made many minor corrections on the artificially damp track in the lead-up to his incident. There didn't appear to be any damage on his vehicle as he went off after just avoiding the tyre barrier. He returned to the track after a lengthy reversing procedure.

It didn't seem to dampen his confidence all too much. When he returned to the track, the 18-year-old waved from his cockpit to the small number of fans present at the circuit.

Brundle notices Verstappen's difference when battling McLaren

Former F1 driver Martin Brundle has "absolutely no doubt" that Max Verstappen races Oscar Piastri differently to teammate Lando Norris on track.

"I think he knows there is something a bit more streetfighter about Oscar Piastri, and you saw it in Jeddah," the F1 pundit said on Sky Sports' 'The F1 Show' podcast.

The F1 commentator then went on to talk about how Piastri made the move on Verstappen to take the lead of the race, a move that had the former F1 driver applauding. "Piastri's overtake on Verstappen was set up for several corners, wasn't it? He'd worked it out over the laps; he followed him, and it was lap 14 when he got passed."

Read Brundle's full conclusion by clicking this link here.