Mick Doohan — a motorcycle racing legend and father of Jack Doohan — has branded the Alpine F1 outfit a ‘customer’ team.

This comes in the aftermath of Alpine demoting Jack Doohan to reserve driver role after just six races in 2025.

Mick Doohan calls Alpine a ‘customer team’

The driver line-up that Alpine started the F1 2025 season with looks a bit different heading into the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola.

Australian racer Jack Doohan was demoted to the role of reserve driver after he failed to impress during six Grand Prix outings in 2025.

Alpine have retained Doohan’s services, calling him the “first-choice reserve driver” during this new period of his career.

Four drivers have failed to score points in F1 so far this season: The Saubers of Gabriel Bortoleto and Fernando Alonso; Liam Lawson, who was himself demoted from Red Bull Racing to Racing Bulls after just two Grands Prix; and Jack Doohan.

The Australian has been replaced by young Argentine racer Franco Colapinto, who impressed in the closing stages of the 2024 F1 season when he replaced Logan Sargeant at Williams.

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Mick Doohan has made his feelings on his son’s demotion clear in an interview with DAZN, which took place prior to the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

“It’s a little bit disappointing the way that things have turned out,” the motorcycle legend said.

“I think Jack performed quite well on paper.”

Doohan took to social media to share his son’s F1 results in the wake of Jack’s demotion, which prompted him to brand them ‘quite well.’

Naturally, plenty of publications latched onto the fact that the elder Doohan had shared something about the team’s decision, which is something he addressed on DAZN.

“That wasn’t my story, that was somebody else’s story. I just reposted it. I didn’t think it’d create such a [headline]!

“Even in qualifyings and free practices and so on, he was quite good.

“But anyway, this is Formula 1, and it looks like it’s a customer team now.”

While that’s far from praise, it is mild enough to keep Jack Doohan out of any hot water with the team that’s still employing him in a reserve capacity.

Jack Doohan was spotted in the Imola paddock this weekend. PlanetF1.com understands that he arrived there on Saturday morning after spending the previous evening on Alpine’s simulator.

Doohan is expected to serve as reserve driver.

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