Jack Doohan’s spell in Formula 1 has already come to an end after just six races, and he will be replaced by Franco Colapinto.
Unsatisfied with results over the first quarter of the season, Alpine have taken the decision to make a change ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Doohan failed to register a point and sat a lowly 19th in the drivers’ championship, seven positions behind his teammate.
Colapinto, who steps up to take his seat, is guaranteed for just five more Formula 1 races before the team could decide to make yet another change.
Despite a slow start to the campaign, Martin Brundle was impressed by Doohan and believes that he showed true flashes of speed.
However, Doohan also cost Alpine £1.12 million in repairs, which will have set their development back for the season slightly.
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Jack Doohan hired ‘around-the-clock’ security at the Miami Grand Prix after social media threats
There’s a chance that Doohan gets to return with Alpine for the British Grand Prix, if his replacement fails to live up to expectations.
Colapinto was accident-prone for Williams last year, so there’s no guarantee that he will be able to limit those mistakes in another new car.
Cadillac could offer Doohan ‘refuge’ with a seat for 2026 if he sits out the rest of the year, with his eyes still firmly on racing at the highest level.
However, distractions over the last few weeks were hard to ignore. So much so, that Doohan had extra security at the Miami Grand Prix after social media threats, according to Kym Illman.
“He was receiving all sorts of threats online,” he said. “So much so, that he had around-the-clock security in Miami and was planning on keeping that security for the Brazilian Grand Prix.”
READ MORE: Jack Doohan was privately furious after taking the fall for error that cost Alpine £1.3m this season
Was it fair for Alpine to drop Jack Doohan after six Formula 1 races?
Doohan trailed Pierre Gasly 5-1 in the qualifying head-to-head and was level at 1-1 during sprint qualifying weekends.
For someone who had been away from competitive racing for one year, he had done acceptably and was just warming up to his new gig.
Now, any momentum that he had built up will be gone and his confidence will have taken a hit too. It’s hard to see where he will go from here.
After being told off by ex-boss Oliver Oakes, Doohan was left ‘upset’ at the Miami Grand Prix. Not long after, he will have been devastated by the team’s eventual decision.
Was it fair? It depends if Colapinto can perform. If he doesn’t, much like Red Bull’s driver disaster, Alpine will be facing yet more tricky decisions in the future.
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