Jack Doohan has suffered another major setback in keeping his Formula 1 career alive after a horrible accident at the Japanese Grand Prix.
The Aussie crashed violently into the barriers at turn one during FP2 on Friday. Doohan spun dramatically onto the gravel on just his fourth lap of the session.
It is not known whether the crash was caused by an issue with the car or driver error, but the 22-year-old was visibly shaken after the crash. Father Mick Doohan was seen heading to the medical centre after the incident, with his son being taken for precautionary checks.
The crash is not what Doohan needed amid the pressure he is facing to stay in F1. Franco Colapinto is being tipped to replace Doohan before the summer break – it could even come sooner than that.
F1 Oversteer reported that Doohan thinks Japan is his last race, with Alpine possibly set to decide on his future after this weekend.
His crash in FP2 will not have helped his case, and many F1 fans think the writing is on the wall for the Aussie’s future.
F1 fans want Jack Doohan out of Alpine after his crash at the Japanese Grand Prix
Doohan had missed FP1 as Alpine opted to give reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa a run in the A525. This limited the 22-year-old’s mileage and would have been a factor in his accident – he has not raced competitively at Suzuka since 2019 in Asian F3.
It has been a difficult start to the 2025 season for Doohan after he crashed at his home race in Melbourne and finished P13 in Shanghai. After his latest incident, many F1 fans took to X (formerly Twitter) to call for the Aussie to be taken out of Alpine.
One fan allued to them wanting a driver change as they said: “I don’t want to say anything, but it would already be about time.” Another was more blunt as they wrote: “Get him off my team.”
One user has had enough and called for Colapinto to take Doohan seat: “How much more evidence do you need? Have you finally realized that Colapinto is the answer?”
Colapnto is not at Suzuka, however, Hirakawa is, and one fan thinks the Japanese driver could be called juo to replace Doohan: “Flavio is on the phone to Ryo.”
Another fan felt sorry for Doohan as they wrote: “Poor guy is stressing I bet, unfortunately it seems he may be the first rookie to go.” Finally, another user thinks the Aussie should have one last chance next weekend at Sakhir: “I think Bahrain needs to be his last chance at this point.”
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F1 key figures are not impressed Jack Doohan did not run in FP1 at Suzuka
Doohan’s crash in Japan has set Alpine back with the huge repair job ahead of them. But it could have been avoided.
Alpine have themselves to blame for the costly error of not giving Doohan mileage in FP1. While it is understandable to run Hirakawa at his home circuit, their full-time driver lacked the experience at Suzuka – it may have been worth taking Pierre Gasly out instead.
Karun Chandhok was stunned by Alpine’s decision, stating that it would have made more sense to put him in Gasly’s car and give Doohan the extra laps he clearly needed.
Even Doohan was ‘a bit miffed’ by the decision. The Aussie is more on the back foot after his crash and will face increasing pressure to perform at Suzuka – he will have to if he wants to stay in F1.
