Alpine team principal Oliver Oakes has acknowledged that the team have “caused a lot of the noise” surrounding the future of Jack Doohan.

It comes amid persistent rumours that Doohan, the son of Australian motorcycling icon Mick Doohan, could be replaced by reserve driver Franco Colapinto at some stage during the F1 2025 season.

Alpine admit responsibility for Jack Doohan ‘noise’

After making his F1 debut one race early at the 2024 season finale in Abu Dhabi, Doohan crashed out on the opening lap of his home race in Australia on Sunday.

It came after an impressive qualifying performance by Doohan, who lapped faster than established team-mate Pierre Gasly in the first stage of qualifying 24 hours earlier.

Doohan had been fighting for a place in the top-10 shootout in qualifying at Albert Park before a yellow flag for Lewis Hamilton’s spinning Ferrari ruined his final lap, leaving him 14th on the grid.

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The 22-year-old’s gritty performance comes at a time when his long-term security is under threat, with Doohan’s contract widely reported to cover only the first few races of the new season.

Alpine signed Colapinto, who won many admirers over the course of a nine-race cameo for the Williams team last season, as one of four reserve drivers for 2025 in January, sparking suggestions that a swap could take place during the season.

PlanetF1.com understands that Doohan’s continued participation in the new season will be based on performance, as is the case with every other driver on the F1 2025 grid.

However, Flavio Briatore, the Alpine executive adviser who is also believed to act as Doohan’s manager, has consistently failed to deny claims that the Australian could be replaced.

Speaking to media after the Australian Grand Prix, Oakes admitted that Alpine have brought much of the scrutiny on Doohan’s shoulders.

He said: “I think it’s fair to say we’ve caused a lot of the noise, being open.

“I think that we haven’t put him in the best position there but I also think, flip it the other way, we’ve got a duty as a team to perform. Nine-hundred people depend on us to make the right choice for the team.

“And I think a lot of its circumstance as well, isn’t it? Because I think you’re going for a reg change.

“We’ve got three or four reserves now. As a team, we need to do that because it is right that we’ve got one eye to the future.

“But I feel for him, because at the end of the day, probably all that noise was brought on from what we did.

“By the same token, if you’re good and you can handle it, you deserve to be in F1.

“At the end of the day, you are one of 20 drivers here and you have to perform no matter what’s thrown at you.

“And from my side, I think probably if it had been anyone else who was signed as a reserve driver, without a big following and all of the noise that comes with that, it would have been slightly different.

“But I think as well, it was probably quite a quiet winter. Other than Lewis’s move [to Ferrari], everyone was looking for something to write about.

“But hopefully now, give it a couple more races to just settle down a bit. I think that would just be quite nice as well.”

Oakes went on to claim that Doohan would have been close to Gasly in qualifying without the red flag, admitting he was impressed by how the Australian handled the pressure at his home race.

He said: “I think he would have been very close to Pierre or slightly ahead throughout, actually. It’s one of those things.

“He was slightly earlier out on track than Pierre, but then you can’t predict [what will happen]. Lewis had a little spin there that just caught him out when it went yellow.

“I think the main thing from my side with Jack is just he’s had a lot slung at him over the past few weeks and to come to this race – obviously there’s a lot of fan support for him, for Oscar [Piastri] – to deal with all of that throughout qualifying, he just did a really good job, which is great to see.

“I think [it’s good] for his own confidence as well, going into his next run of races.

“I wouldn’t say he surprised me, because I’ve actually always felt he’s capable of doing what he’s done. He wouldn’t have got a chance [in the first place if he didn’t.].

“I know it [the deal for Doohan to race in 2025] was done before I joined the team, but all of the mileage he’d done in the TPC testing, he’d been performing well.

“I think I could say I was slightly surprised how he conducted himself given it’s his home race, there’s a lot of attention on you.

“We didn’t necessarily have an easy build up to the weekend in terms of getting the car balance, so I think how he handled all of that, and then when it came to the sort of high-pressure moment in qualifying, on his side he delivered a good lap. he didn’t put a foot wrong.

“I’d say, from that side, I was more proud of him than surprised.”

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Oakes added that he cannot “stick up” for Doohan constantly, insisting that he must silence the questions over his future by producing on track.

And he praised the Gold Coast-born star for “never sulking” during a tricky period entering the new season, warning that he must maintain his level of performance at this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix.

He said: “I think it’s also something he’s got to go through himself.

“I can’t stick up for him all the time, I think he’s got to do his talking on track and I think he’s done that.

“He’d already, from my point of view, just been absolutely proper in the team with how he handled all of that.

“He was never sulking or moping. He got on with it.

“He’s worked really hard over the winter and I think all of that goes together to delivering the result that he did.

“I think the only bit I’d say in F1 is that it’s hero to zero quite quickly and you’ve got to just keep performing and keep doing what you’re doing.

“But I think he knows that and you can see that in how he goes about his business.

“From my side, I’d actually say it [a positive attitude] is one of his big attributes as well, that he just does seem to keep his head down and block things out and get on with it.

“And I think that is something that’s always an interesting at one, isn’t it?

“It isn’t just about being quick. You’ve got to be able to handle the pressure and you’ve got to be able to quickly move on from any mistakes as well.

“I think China will be a little bit difficult as well for the rookies. It’s not a track that necessarily they have tested at.

“I don’t know if that’s the case down the grid, but I think obviously after they’re into Bahrain and that stuff it also gets a bit easier for them.”

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