Formula 1 is a pressure cooker and every mistake is thoroughly analysed and investigated.
The Australian Grand Prix provided some of the toughest conditions an F1 driver can face and there were six retirements due to crashes as a result.
Isack Hadjar failed to make it to the start line while Jack Doohan and Carlos Sainz both hit the barriers on the opening lap.
Hadjar needed consoling in the paddock after his mistake and it overshadowed what had been a positive debut weekend up to that point.
Alpine boss Oliver Oakes was impressed with Doohan despite his unfortunate shunt but the pressure is already building on the young Australian.
However, F1 is a cutthroat business and both rookies will be aware that there are plenty of drivers who would love to jump into their seats.
Unfortunately for Hadjar and Doohan, they both race for the teams that are best prepared to make a driver change if required.
READ MORE: Who is Racing Bulls 2025 F1 driver Isack Hadjar? Everything you need to know
Ted Kravitz predicts ‘tough times’ for Jack Doohan and Isack Hadjar in Formula 1
Pit lane reporter Ted Kravitz was speaking on The F1 Show about the opening race weekend of the season.
Talking about the crashes both rookies suffered in Melbourne, Kravitz said: “It’s really unfortunate. You know, both Hadjar and Doohan have hard taskmaster bosses in Helmut Marko, who called Hadjar’s emotional reaction to going out embarrassing. That’s embarrassing for him.
“And Flavio’s reaction, which we don’t know, but I can’t imagine not scoring any points with Pierre Gasly was particularly unfortunate seeing as Gasly was running in the points for most of the race, but they got a call, a lap late, and then Gasly dropped down.
“And for Doohan to crash out, that’s only going to harden Flavio’s attitude towards Jack Doohan.
“And that’s the problem when you have these two really hard taskmasters, old school Formula 1 hard men in Helmut Marlo and Flavio Briatore.
“If you’re Iscak Hadjar and Jack Doohan, respectively, it’s going to mean tough times for you ahead.”
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Racing Bulls and Alpine have plenty of options available if Isack Hadjar and Jack Doohan struggle
Every team in the paddock has drivers they can call upon if they need to make a change but none are more prepared than Alpine and Racing Bulls.
After Doohan was promoted into Esteban Ocon’s race seat, Alpine signed four reserve drivers over the winter including Franco Colapinto.
Colapinto has been linked with Doohan’s seat heavily and the main reason he joined on loan from Williams was due to his prospect of a full-time position on the grid increasing by joining Alpine.
Safety Car deployed 🟡
Jack Doohan is OUT of the race on the first lap 😩#F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/gWCo1pN9Rr
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 16, 2025
Racing Bulls heavily lean on Red Bull’s junior team from which Hadjar was called up over the winter and they’ve never been shy about making driver changes in the past.
Arvid Lindblad is highly rated by Red Bull and if his Formula 2 season goes as well as expected, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he was earmarked for an F1 seat in 2026.
Yuki Tsunoda’s Racing Bulls future is under threat despite his strong start to the campaign but Helmut Marko is unlikely to hesitate if he needs to promote two young stars from their ranks.
Hadjar and Doohan have another opportunity to impress at the Chinese Grand Prix but in Marko and Flavio Briatore, they have two very difficult people to impress after a disappointing beginning to their F1 careers.
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