Alpine failed to score a point during the Australian Grand Prix but both drivers will feel pretty positive about how the 2025 Formula 1 season started.
Pierre Gasly and Jack Doohan both suffered their fair share of bad luck during Sunday’s race.
Gasly should have scored Alpine’s first points were it not for a poorly-timed late pit stop that saw him drop out of the top 10 after running comfortably ahead of Lewis Hamilton for much of the race.
His new teammate Doohan hit the barriers on the first lap and was the second rookie eliminated from the race after Isack Hadjar’s formation lap spin.
Doohan received sympathy from Lando Norris and George Russell when they watched his crash back and team principal Oliver Oakes was very happy with his new hire.
Kimi Antonelli narrowly avoided making the same mistake as Doohan and while that may be frustrating for the Australian at his home race, he’ll be feeling confident going into Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix.
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Oliver Oakes ‘really liked’ Jack Doohan’s reaction to Australian Grand Prix crash
Journalist Mat Coch was speaking on Speedcafe’s YouTube channel after the Australian Grand Prix and Doohan’s early exit.
When asked about Doohan’s Alpine future and whether it’s been impacted by the first DNF of his F1 career, he said: “I don’t think he’s under as much pressure as we all make out.
“I’ve just come out of a chat with Oli Oakes, the team principal there and he’s actually pretty impressed with what Jack’s done this weekend.
“Yes, he crashed and that’s not ideal, but Oli was sort of [like], well, he got a white line on a slippery track on lap one in a really busy part of the race.
“He’s right in the midfield there, he understood it. He didn’t like it, but he understood it.
| CATEGORY | VOL. |
| Races | 59 |
| Wins | 6 |
| Pole positions | 5 |
| Podiums | 11 |
| Points scored | 303 |
“But what he really liked was the way that Jack jumped out of the car and didn’t let it bring him down.
“He understood that yes, that’s not ideal, he’s made some work for the mechanics, but there’s another opportunity in seven days’ time.
“We’re at the Chinese Grand Prix in a week’s time, he carried himself really well all weekend.
“He was faster than Pierre Gasly in the first two practice sessions, he probably would have bettered Pierre Gasly in qualifying, Oli Oakes’ words, not mine on that one.
“So, Alpine are properly impressed with what they’ve seen out of Jack Doohan.”
READ MORE: Who is Alpine F1 team principal Oliver Oakes? Everything to know
Oliver Oakes admits Jack Doohan has faced a lot of pressure over his Alpine future
Martin Brundle suggested Doohan’s crash was bad news for his F1 career but that wasn’t echoed by Oakes after the race.
In his post-race analysis, the Alpine team principal said: “He would have been very close to Pierre, or slightly ahead.
“The main thing from my side is that he’s had a lot slung at him the past few weeks.
“To come to this race, there’s a lot of fan support for him to deal with, and throughout qualifying he just did a really good job, which is great to see and for his own confidence as well going into this next run of races.”
He’s right to praise Doohan for his pace before the race as he was unlucky to only start P15 after qualifying.
The 22-year-old got caught out by the yellow flags brought out on his final flying lap after Hamilton’s spin.
Alex Albon warned Doohan before Sunday’s race that the conditions would be tricky and ultimately he couldn’t correct the small mistake he made that ended his first home Grand Prix.
