Jack Doohan will make his full-time debut in Formula 1 in front of his home crowd at the Australian Grand Prix.
It will mark the start of the 22-year-old’s campaign with Alpine in 2025 alongside Pierre Gasly, having been the first driver to come through the Alpine Academy to be promoted into an F1 seat.
But his place on the grid could already be under threat after Alpine also signed Franco Colapinto from Williams, in a move that James Vowles said was his best possible chance of earning a seat on the grid.
Doohan already made his F1 race debut in Abu Dhabi amid an important championship battle with Haas for Alpine, as the two teams were close for sixth place which is worth millions in prize money.
Gasly finished in the points for the French team, while Doohan had a ‘difficult race’ according to former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer.
The pressure is on for Doohan to perform in the first six races of 2025, something Karun Chandhok thinks has been unfair for the Australian to prove himself when speaking on the Fast and Curious podcast.

Karun Chandhok thinks Alpine has been unfair on Jack Doohan
Alpine has already blocked media from asking Doohan too many questions about his future within the team, preferring to focus on his commitment to the team at the start of the season.
There is no doubt that the Australian is under pressure to perform, but Chandhok thinks this tactic could backfire on Alpine in the long term.
“It’s quite harsh on Jack to just have Franco sit on the bench throwing bananas around, hoping that he slips and falls over or just sitting there and hoping Jack does a bad job,” said Chandhok.
“That’s pretty bad vibes to be having in your pit garage.”
Could Jack Doohan’s F1 career be in jeopardy earlier than expected in 2025?
Having Colapinto on the sidelines is a great ‘Plan B’ for Alpine if Doohan struggles to meet their performance targets, given how he proved himself at Williams last year.
Colapinto could replace Doohan as early as the Miami GP in this instance according to journalist Nate Saunders. The Argentine brings significant commercial value, which will be a lot for Alpine now that Renault has scaled back some of its investment.
READ MORE: Who is Alpine F1 driver Jack Doohan? All to know from his girlfriend to dad
Ralf Schumacher thinks Doohan might not last beyond the Australian GP, citing how ruthless Flavio Briatore can be with drivers.
Doohan’s ability to cope with the pressure has also been questioned by Martin Brundle, especially as he will be heading into the first races of the season effectively trying to keep his chances of staying on the grid alive.
Leave feedback about this