Alpine rookie driver Jack Doohan crashed during the first lap of the Australian Grand Prix.
Despite the wet weather, the race had got off to a fairly clean start. However, by Turn 6, the Australian driver had crashed into the wall. The driver dipped his wheel onto the painted white line, causing him to spin and collide with the wall. The Alpine driver had started the race from 14th on the grid.
This came after fellow rookie driver Isack Hadjar crashed similarly on the formation lap, ending his race before it had even begun.
Doohan wasn’t the only driver to crash on the first lap as Carlos Sainz’s Williams also ended up in the wall – not the way the Spanish driver wanted to start his career with the Grove outfit.
The safety car was deployed while the marshals worked to remove the Alpine and Williams from the track.
Lando Norris retained his lead at the race start, successfully fending off Max Verstappen, who overtook Oscar Piastri to take second.
Jack Doohan, Alpine
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
Fortunately for the drivers, rain is not expected for the remainder of the race.
Alpine team principal Oliver Oakes commented on the pressure on Doohan ahead of the Australian Grand Prix. He explained:
“Yeah, I mean, look, I think I was probably a little bit too supportive—maybe saying, just give him a bit of a break. We put him in that situation by having a few reserve drivers, but that gave us options as a team.
“But I think, look, he did a good job in Bahrain. He’s been very good here out of the blocks, and I think you can see he’s getting a bit of confidence because it isn’t easy for the rookies. I think we saw on track that a couple of early mistakes can put you on the back foot.”
