F1’s Soap Opera: Jack Gets the (Temporary) Sack, Oscar Packs the Silverware
In an exclusive interview, Woody Creek F1 commentator Hunter Thompson summed up the state of the $6bn global sport. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro, buy the ticket, take the ride and I have a theory that the truth is never told during the nine-to-five hours,” Hunter, who died in 2005, told us. Today the truth!
Doohan Dumped, Flav Returns, Oakes Walks
Things got even weirder this week when colourful ex-Renault boss Flavio Briatore punted Jack Doohan – son of Aussie MotoGP legend Mick Doohan – from his F1 seat after six races, a move so ruthless it would make even Red Bull blush.
Alpine driver Jack Doohan. Picture: Getty Images
Alpine driver Jack Doohan. Picture: Getty Images
Within hours, Alpine team boss Oliver Oakes basically said “fudge this” and resigned on the spot. Briatore, 73, now runs the joint, with Alpine sitting ninth in the standings and falling apart faster than a cheap dunny door. The Renault-owned squad sits on seven points – only 239 behind leader McLaren.
Colapinto Cash, Netflix Cameras, and 2026 Politics
Then the real weirdness (part of the global F1 metacrisis) struck. Alpine confirmed that Franco Colapinto, 21, of Pilar, Argentina, would replace Doohan in Imola – but only for five races. That’s right, five. After that, the team will “reassess its options”.
Flav’s logic? “The next five races will give us an opportunity to try something different.” Sounds more like driver roulette than long-term strategy.
Alpine says it’s part of prepping for the 2026 rules reset. But Sky Sports’ Craig Slater reckons there’s more at play – specifically, “pretty significant” money from Colapinto’s Argentinian backers and a fee Alpine paid to Williams to get him on a five-year loan deal.
Alpine's Ryo Hirakawa, left, and Franco Colapinto. Picture: AFP
And then there’s Netflix. Ted Kravitz noticed the Drive to Survive crew suspiciously “camped out” at Alpine all weekend in Miami – odd given the team’s recent form. He later spotted Jack and Mick Doohan looking gutted well after the chequered flag, hinting the axe had already swung before Imola.
Alpine’s ‘Rotation’ Plan and the Long Shadow of 2026
Flav is billing it all as a driver evaluation strategy for next season, when Alpine switches to Mercedes engines and fancies itself a dark horse. They think their chassis is good enough to join the 2026 title fight. Wild rumours even link Verstappen.
But the five-race trial reeks of driver roulette. If Colapinto doesn’t deliver, Estonian prospect Paul Aron is next cab off the rank – and Jack, once again, is the odd man out. This sort of “let’s try both and see” logic hasn’t worked since Red Bull’s debut in 2005 with Christian Klien and Vitantonio Liuzzi. Even then, they worked out it was a bad idea pretty quick. Alpine, it seems, is just getting started.
Doohan Deserved Better
What’s happening to Doohan is worse than madness. He started the year with no clear backing from Alpine and despite flashes of form he’s been dumped like a failed Green politician.
Jack’s back in the reserve seat, watching others audition for his job. As he said, he’s not giving up. But the road back is steep, political, and paved with favours.
Big Flav’s Baggage: From Crashgate to Taxgate
Flav’s career has been a masterclass in cutting ethical corners. The 2008 Singapore GP scandal – where he told Piquet Jr. to crash deliberately – remains one of F1’s darkest chapters.
He copped a lifetime ban (later overturned), and in 2018 he was sentenced to 18 months in prison over tax dodging on his yacht. He got off – eventually – thanks to Italy’s favourite legal loophole: the statute of limitations.
Grand Prix of Miami winner Oscar Piastri celebrates on the podium. Picture: Getty Images
Meanwhile, Oscar Is Flying
Oscar Piastri was clinical in Miami. With his fourth win in five races, he left Verstappen in his mirrors and Lando Norris in his wake. Calm, ruthless, and precise – he even tricked Mad Max into an error. Ferrari may be fumbling, Alpine combusting, but Australia’s got a Sunday smile again. Bring on Imola.
Ferrari’s Off-Track Form: Selling Dreams, Banking Billions
Ferrari mightn’t be so hot on the track but its Q1 results are just in and – surprise, surprise – selling obscenely expensive cars to rich people remains a wildly profitable business. With just 3593 cars delivered, Ferrari posted $2.96bn in revenue and nearly $680m in profit. Operating profit? $894m. EBITDA? $1.14bn. That’s not a car business – that’s a luxury-margin printing press.
Asia was the one blemish, with sales in China, HK and Taiwan down 80 units.
What’s driving the cash machine? Racing, hybrids and bling. Ferrari’s profitability is driven by hybrid models, costly personalisations, and a jump in sponsorship tied to its F1 performance last year. Racing still sells road cars – and the tifosi still pony up.
CEO Benedetto Vigna teased six new models, including the 296 Speciale twins and the electric Ferrari Elettrica. With just $81m in net debt and $700m in share buybacks, this horse is galloping.
Worried about US tariffs? Ferrari’s not. They’ll just jack up prices 10 per cent and call it a carbon adjustment. When your customers are billionaires, who needs volume? Ferrari’s not into car manufacturing – its core business is high-end wealth extraction.
Mount Baw Baw Sprint: Real Motorsport, Real Cold
Of course, the real racing last weekend was the ATR Mount Baw Baw Sprint 2025. Translation: 95 icy corners every 3km. Thirty-nine teams (and two idiots on parade – your Weekend Australian Rally Team) tackled the course in Porkers, Lotuses, Godzillas, and more modest beasts like the ’89 WART Beemer and a Triumph 2000.
ATR owners Pamela Stables and Brittany Smith ran another flawless rally with the best BBQ lunch in Australia. Winners? Dean Lillie and Chris Exner in a Ravage Raceworks 1995 Mazda RX-7, followed by Jason and Fiona Wright in a GTR, and Matt Gibbens and Tim Jurd in a Lotus Exige. An hour behind: your humble author and co-driver Michael McMichael.
Next Week: Mazda, BMW and the Regulators Who Let It Happen
Coming up: BMW keeps a customer’s car for five months. Mazda keeps stonewalling. The ACCC’s new boss has a big job ahead – starting with a clean-up of its limp regulators and car companies that think they’re untouchable.
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