Alpine boss Oliver Oakes tells Jack Doohan that 22-pole F1 driver is his ‘reference’ for rookie season

Jack Doohan is already under pressure to stay in Formula 1 ahead of his rookie season in 2025.

The Aussie will race with Alpine this season alongside Pierre Gasly having served as their reserve driver in 2024. Doohan is the first driver to graduate from the team’s academy into a full-time race seat.

The 21-year-old was handed his F1 debut early at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as Alpine released Esteban Ocon from his contract to allow for his move to Haas.

The weekend acted as an opportunity for Doohan to show his skills and great accustomed to a Grand Prix environment ahead of 2025.

But his performance left Jolyon Palmer unimpressed as he qualified at thre back and finished 15th while teammate Gasly finished seventh and secured sixth for Alpine in the Constructors’ Championship.

Now, the Aussie is at risk of losing his seat before even getting a proper chance to prove himself. Doohan’s contract is reportedly only for six races, giving him, in theory, until Miami to save his F1 career.

Franco Colapinto has joined Alpine as their reserve driver from Williams. F1 fans have warned Doohan to watch his back as the Argentine will be waiting to replace him if he underperforms.

Oliver Oakes tells Jack Doohan that Fernando Alonso is his ‘reference’ for 2025

Doohan is one of six new full-time drivers on the grid this year. He will be facing some fierce competitors including Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.

The rookies will be under pressure to impress their respective teams, but they will have a great ‘reference’ in Alonso to look at and improve from.

That is according to Alpine boss Oliver Oakes, who speaking on the James Allen On F1 Podcast, thinks the ‘impressive’ two-time champion – who has grabbed 32 wins, 22 pole positions and 106 podiums in his incredible career – is the driver to learn from.

Talking about promoting rookie drivers to F1, Oakes said: “I think Helmut has always been the one who’s been leading that and I think you can see that very clearly. With Red Bull for this year, he’s got his way there which is correct.

“At the end of the day, it’s good to bring in young blood, I think it keeps everyone fresh. But I kind of also still believe it’s exciting to see all of that go up against Fernando.

“Because he is still the reference. Obviously [I’ve] met him a little bit now working with Flavio. I’m laughing, he’s always at the track late, he’s always coming to say bye.

“That is just as impressive as someone young there of how committed and hungry he still is. It’s so impressive”.

How can Jack Doohan save his F1 career at Alpine?

Doohan is the most vulnerable F1 driver heading into 2025, which is incredibly harsh considering he has only made one appearance in the sport.

The 21-year-old deserves his chance in F1 and his team do seem to think so. Alpine have said Doohan is their man as they plan to start him and Gasly for the season opener in Melbourne.

But with Colapinto costing Alpine £8.4 million and him signing a long-term contract, it is hard to imagine they will want to keep the Argentine on the sidelines for too long.

Doohan must match Gasly in 2025 to save his seat, but that will be a tough challenge given the Frenchman is well-established with the team. He displayed great racecraft to finish 10th in the Drivers’ Championship in 2024.