The beginning of the 2025 Formula 1 season is just a few days away and months of waiting and guessing the potential pecking order in the paddock will be over.
Season-opening hosting rights have returned to the Australian Grand Prix after several years of the campaign kicking off in Bahrain.
After unseasonably cold conditions made pre-season testing particularly difficult to read, the first practice session in Melbourne will give fans a much better idea of who’s in the running to win the drivers’ championship this year.
McLaren appear to have the edge over the rest of the grid after testing but until Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri begin their qualifying runs, it’s impossible to know whether that advantage will be sustained.
Formula 1’s midfield battle is expected to be even more intriguing than last season with Williams and Alpine looking good in Bahrain.
Pierre Gasly impressed onlookers during testing and will be competing with both Williams drivers and potentially Fernando Alonso and the Haas pair to be the best of the rest.
However, pressure is already building on his new teammate Jack Doohan after just a single Grand Prix start.
Former F1 team principal Guenther Steiner was asked about Doohan’s situation at Alpine in an interview with Speedcafe at the Adelaide Motorsport Festival.
Steiner believes that the rumours that Doohan only has a few races to save his F1 race seat have been ‘exaggerated’ for one important reason.
Guenther Steiner claims Jack Doohan F1 exit rumours are ‘exaggerated’
Steiner was asked about the pressure of Colapinto being behind him and asked for his thoughts.
He said: “I think the pressure comes from outside and like a lot of these things which are happening in F1, it’s like somebody said, ‘Oh, he has got only six races’ and then it will be decided.
“Somebody said it, somebody repeated it and it got bigger and bigger.
“I don’t even know if it is true because nobody knows where it comes from.
“So, for me, it’s an exaggerated rumour but again, in F1, it’s not only him under pressure.
READ MORE: Who is Alpine F1 driver Jack Doohan? All to know from his girlfriend to dad
“Everybody needs to perform, but if he performs, he will be fine, there will be no problem.
“Obviously, he needs to perform and I always think that he’s got his father Mick the legend around, so he will help him to go through this pressure he’s got on him because when you’re a race car driver, you’ve always got pressure [on you].
“I just don’t see where it came from, I mean, it wasn’t an official statement. So, if there’s no official statement, I always assume that it is somebody [who] opened his mouth who doesn’t know what he is saying.
“Jack needs to stay calm, do what he needs to do, race cars and then the performance will come and he will be here to stay.”
Alpine have put Jack Doohan into an impossible situation ahead of the Australian Grand Prix
There was a lot of changes behind the scenes at Alpine last year with Flavio Briatore returning as an executive advisor and Oliver Oakes installed as team principal.
Briatore didn’t hide his desire to sign Carlos Sainz to partner Gasly this season, with Doohan well aware he wasn’t the team’s first choice.
However, their move to sign Franco Colapinto, Ryo Hirakawa and Paul Aron over the winter has piled more pressure on Doohan ahead of his first home race in F1.
READ MORE: All you need to know about Alpine F1 Team from team principal to lineage
Oscar Piastri has warned Doohan about the dangers of his first home Grand Prix, but he’ll need to galvanise the support he’s going to receive into a positive result.
Ralf Schumacher has suggested Doohan could lose his seat after the race in Australia which seems very unlikely but also highlights just how widespread the belief is that he’s already walking a tightrope.
Steiner’s words might give the 22-year-old some much-needed confidence that he’s not immediately going to lose his F1 race seat.
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