Jacques Villeneuve claims ‘desperate’ F1 driver has already been told he will be replaced, ‘writing is on the wall’

Red Bull have made the first driver change of the 2025 F1 season with Yuki Tsunoda replacing Liam Lawson, but Jacques Villeneuve is adamant another move is coming.

The 1997 Formula 1 champion believes another team has already told their driver that they will not see out the season. This weekend marks only the third round of the 2025 F1 season and the Japanese Grand Prix further marks the first leg of the first triple-header of the term.

Suzuka also sees Tsunoda debut for Red Bull on home soil after the Kanagawa native earned a promotion from Racing Bulls into their main team. Red Bull grew frustrated with Lawson’s lack of progress trying to adapt to the tricky RB21, and the Kiwi has returned to Racing Bulls.

Jacques Villeneuve believes Alpine have already told Jack Doohan he will be replaced

Villeneuve believes Lawson left Red Bull with no choice but to demote him after hearing the 23-year-old seem mentally ‘collapsed’ at the Chinese Grand Prix. But the New Zealander will not be the last racer canned this term as Villeneuve expects Alpine will replace Jack Doohan.

He also believes the Renault-owned crew have already told Doohan that he will not see out the full season after Alpine paid Williams £8.5m for Franco Colapinto. The Argentine joined Alpine as a reserve driver but it has long been expected that he will take up Doohan’s drive.

READ MORE: Who is Alpine F1 driver Jack Doohan? All to know from his girlfriend to dad

Villeneuve feels Doohan’s early rookie struggles further stem from the pressure that Alpine executive adviser Flavio Briatore has created by signing Colapinto. The 22-year-old debuted at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix yet crashed in Australia and sealed P13 in China this year.

“The problem is he’s known [since] before the first race that he probably will not finish the season,” Villeneuve told Sky Sports Main Event (04/04, 08:20) about Doohan’s future. “He’s been put under tremendous pressure by Flavio mainly with Colapinto there in the wing.

“The writing is on the wall and his driving has been one of desperation, having to prove that he is at least better than [Pierre] Gasly so they should keep him when he’s already been told, ‘Do a few races but then you’ll probably be replaced’. You can see it in his driving.”

Jacques Villeneuve found Jack Doohan’s FP2 crash at Suzuka ‘very surprising’

Doohan’s efforts to avoid Alpine replacing him with Colapinto took another dent during FP2 for the 2025 Japanese GP this Friday. The Australian crashed heavily into the Turn 1 barriers at 185mph mere minutes into the session and required medical checks at the on-site centre.

READ MORE: Who is Alpine’s F1 executive adviser Flavio Briatore? Everything to know

The Gold Coast native did not suffer a concussion and is expected to return to action for FP3 on Saturday. Alpine are also investigating if Doohan crashed amid his second push lap in FP2 owing to an issue with his car, but their checks into his data have so far proven inconclusive.

Villeneuve has also called Doohan’s FP2 crash at the 2025 Japanese GP ‘very surprising’ as his car flicked very quickly upon the Alpine driving turning into Suzuka’s first corner. He does not feel a tailwind caused the Australian’s crash given Doohan took an aggressive approach.

“You can tell that he was very aggressive when he turned in,” Villeneuve said (04/04, 08:18). “He didn’t have the laps this morning, so he went in with a lot of confidence. But with the tail wind, maybe his tyres weren’t ready, he’s on the hard tyres and he got caught out.

“You can see the car pivoted so quickly and actually he threw the car in, he didn’t massage the car into the corner… It looks aggressive, just a tiny little bit too much. It would have been OK in normal conditions with the tyres really warm, no tailwind.

“But the team with the data might see that maybe the suspension failed. That’s something that we cannot really see now. But it looked very aggressive and the way it pivoted right away was very surprising.”