The beginning of the 2025 Formula 1 season is now just around the corner with every team’s new livery set to be launched next Tuesday at The O2 in London.
While one team isn’t entirely happy about attending the F1 75 event, it will allow fans to see all 20 drivers together for the first time this year.
Lewis Hamilton will make his first public appearance as a Ferrari driver after several private tests over the past few weeks.
His Mercedes replacement Andrea Kimi Antonelli is arguably the most intriguing rookie on the grid in 2025 after being immediately parachuted into a top team.
Karun Chandhok spoke to Sky Sports F1 ahead of the season starting about another rookie who will be starting his first full Formula 1 campaign this year.
Alpine decided to promote Jack Doohan from his reserve driver role into Esteban Ocon’s seat going into 2025.
Doohan had a difficult start to his F1 career in Abu Dhabi and it’s unlikely to get any easier for the young Australian.
Chandhok believes that Doohan is under ‘immediate pressure’ at Alpine ahead of the Australian Grand Prix which kicks off the 2025 season.
That’s because the Anglo-French team, led by Oliver Oakes and Flavio Briatore, hired a group of very impressive drivers over the winter, including Franco Colapinto.
Karun Chandhok thinks Jack Doohan is under ‘immediate pressure’ at Alpine in 2025
Talking about the 22-year-old ahead of the start of the 2025 season, Chandhok said: “Jack Doohan had been patiently waiting for a race seat at Alpine since his F2 days and finally got that chance to line up on the grid at the final race in Abu Dhabi last year in preparation for this season.
“But not long after he had signed, Colapinto arrives on the scene, putting immediate pressure on his shoulders even before we get to the first race.
“It’s obviously not an ideal situation to be in. There will certainly be no time to ease himself in as Doohan will be looking to cement his position in the team and make himself irreplaceable.”
READ MORE: Who is Alpine F1 driver Jack Doohan? All to know from his girlfriend to dad
Doohan’s initial F1 contract only runs for a few races, meaning he can’t afford any poor performances as he gets up to speed with Alpine’s new car.
He will need to be as close to teammate Pierre Gasly as he can get, but Colapinto is likely to be fulfilling the Liam Lawson role in the paddock at the start of the year, with the cameras ready and waiting to pan to the young Argentine any time Doohan makes a mistake.
Flavio Briatore’s ruthless streak may already worry Jack Doohan
Renault CEO Luca de Meo decided to bring Briatore back into the fold at Alpine halfway through last year to help the team when they were in danger of finishing last in the constructors’ championship.
There was talk that Briatore’s arrival meant Alpine might be up for sale, but the team have consistently denied that there are any plans for that to happen.
However, he did play a role in Alpine deciding to move away from using Renault power units from 2026 when they will become a Mercedes customer team.
READ MORE: All you need to know about Alpine F1 Team from team principal to lineage
That sort of decision-making might worry Doohan’s camp as Briatore has shown throughout his career that he’s willing to swap drivers in and out at a moment’s notice.
He only watched Michael Schumacher race once in Formula 1 before poaching him from Jordan, dropping Roberto Moreno in the process.
Johnny Herbert and Jenson Button also witnessed Briatore’s ruthlessness first hand and Doohan will be hoping he follows in their footsteps in terms of their success on track and not when it came to their careers under the Italian.
