Jack Doohan’s 2025 Formula 1 season has yet to begin and already it appears that his seat is under pressure at Alpine.
The Australian is the first driver from Alpine’s academy to graduate into a race seat and will partner Pierre Gasly after taking over from Esteban Ocon.
Doohan has already made his race debut with Alpine at the 2024 season finale in Abu Dhabi, but after qualifying at the back of the field he only managed to finish 15th.
Former Renault F1 driver Jolyon Palmer was left unimpressed by Doohan’s debut, particularly as Gasly managed to finish seventh and secure their sixth place in the Constructors’ Championship which was under threat from Haas.
Over the winter break, Alpine announced the shock signing of Franco Colapinto from Williams with team principal James Vowles alluding to it being his best chance of securing a seat on the grid. Doohan has been questioned by media during a press conference at the F1 74 event in London, and he gave a pretty blunt response.
Jack Doohan gives blunt response to Franco Colapinto questions at F1 75 event
Doohan has understandably been asked about the rumours that Colapinto could replace him if he doesn’t perform well in the opening part of the season, but did not take them lightly according to journalsit Sam Cooper on BlueSky.
“Some early tension in the F1 75 media sessions. Jack Doohan asked a few times about Colapinto, snaps at one question before the Alpine press officer then stops any more questions on the subject,” wrote Cooper.
When Doohan did answer the question, he gave a blunt response: “I’ve been told he’s reserve driver.”
After being asked if he felt undermined by the prescence of Colapinto, who has a long term contract with the team, Doohan elaborated: “I was a 21-year-old reserve driver last year, with a long-term contract. But no, I don’t. Maybe I should, I don’t know. I don’t really understand that as a question. But yeah, definitely not.”
At this stage the Alpine press office intervened to say they had “covered the Franco topic” thereby asking media to move on from questions relating to the reserve. Doohan had previously been asked about Colapinto at the recent Autosport Awards, where his PR also interjected to prevent questions.
Will Jack Doohan survive the 2025 season?
Doohan has been preparing extensively for the 2025 season, including taking part in a recent private test at Barcelona alongside Ferrari and McLaren while they conducted Pirelli tyre tests for 2026.
Alpine has been impressed by Doohan’s work behind the scenes and he will likely want to make an impact at his first race in Australia, but will face added pressure from the home crowd.
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Doohan’s contract is reportedly only for six races, which gives him nearly zero time to improve if he starts the season off poorly.
To add even more pressure, Flavio Briatore has been posted about Colapinto’s recent test on socail media but did nothing for his current driver.
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