Jack Doohan is publicly testing the 2025 Alpine for the first time on Wednesday morning. Teammate Pierre Gasly will take over after the lunch break.
Doohan may already feel under pressure as he rolls out of the garage in Bahrain. The team, and perhaps to a greater extent the media, will be making immediate comparisons with Gasly.
The Australian’s seat is in question even before the start of his first full season. Alpine have signed Franco Colapinto, who started nine races for Williams last season, as their reserve driver.
Colapinto is regarded as a plug-and-play option if Doohan underperforms. The latter made his debut at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after Esteban Ocon’s early exit.
He will kick off the 2025 campaign in front of his fans in Melbourne. Having had two races to adapt before racing on home soil, Oscar Piastri doesn’t envy Doohan.
Colapinto was one of two drivers who joined the 2024 grid mid-season. Racing Bulls also changed their line-up, with Doohan’s fellow Australian Daniel Ricciardo losing his seat to Liam Lawson three-quarters of the way through the year.
Media grilling has lit the fire in Jack Doohan amid Franco Colapinto pressure
Sky Sports reporter Craig Slater has spoken to paddock insiders to gauge Doohan’s mood ahead of testing. He appeared in a press conference ahead of the F1 75 launch event in London last week, and predictably faced multiple questions about Colapinto.
Doohan ‘snapped’ at the media and Alpine’s press officer prompted a change of subject. While he may have appeared a little rattled, Slater has heard that he ‘enjoyed’ it.
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It may have ‘lit a fire’ in the 22-year-old before the season starts. He’s perhaps developing a siege mentality that could aid his performance levels.
Slater said: “I’ve just been speaking to a couple of people. They reckon he enjoyed that, he enjoyed getting punchy with the media. Maybe that little bit of tough questioning has lit his fires ahead of this season.”
When Franco Colapinto is likely to replace Jack Doohan at Alpine
Doohan will have to match Pierre Gasly if he wants to silence the narrative. That would be a mightily impressive feat given that the highly-rated Frenchman is entering his eighth full season.
Flavio Briatore would have little obvious reason to change in that case. But some may suspect he’s already made up his mind.
There are reports that Doohan has only signed a six-race contract. He may already be down to five after his unexpected appearance in Abu Dhabi.
As such, one journalist believes Colapinto will replace Doohan at the Miami Grand Prix, the sixth race of the season. It would be one of the most ruthless driver calls in recent F1 history.
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