Jack Doohan drove six Grands Prix for the Alpine team last year, before he was promptly replaced by Franco Colapinto. After a series of disappointing results, the Australian was put back on the reserve bench. According to his father and motorsport star Mick Doohan, however, it was determined much earlier that his son would be replaced by the Argentine, who received a last-minute contract with the French team in 2025.
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Back to 2024. Regular Alpine driver Esteban Ocon was already dismissed after the penultimate race. During the season finale in Abu Dhabi, Pierre Gasly was joined for the first time by test and reserve driver Jack Doohan, who made his long-awaited debut for the French. For 2025, the team had already promised the young Australian a race seat. In January of that year, however, Alpine also managed to sign Williams talent Franco Colapinto. The latter had made a great impression during his lightning debut for the British team and was given a reserve role within Alpine.
Ultimately, it took six Grands Prix before a driver change occurred; after Miami, Colapinto made his Alpine debut at the expense of Jack Doohan. According to Mick Doohan, however, it was certain from the start that the Argentine would take over the seat. “I can’t actually comment on it,” said Doohan senior in conversation with the Spanish Marca. “But I do think it’s unfair. It was like that from the start. They replaced a driver before the season even began.”
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Doohan aims for comeback
“My son had a long-term contract; he was the first Alpine junior driver to join the team,” he added. “But it was clear, for reasons I cannot mention, that a different course was being taken.” Regarding his son’s resilience: “Look, Jack is a strong young man and he is currently racing in a race car in Barcelona. He is now a reserve driver at Haas and is trying to secure a permanent seat, perhaps with a team that values contracts more,” he sneered towards Alpine.
At the struggling Alpine, neither Jack Doohan nor Franco Colapinto managed to score World Championship points. Both did cause several costly crashes. According to the Australian, his F1 debut was one of the toughest periods of his life. In the Netflix docuseries Drive to Survive, he revealed that he was threatened several times because of the disappointing results. “People said they would kill me if I didn’t get out of the car,” he shared candidly.
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