The 2025 Formula 1 season has perfectly encapsulated how brutal this sport can be on its drivers after just three race weekends.
Liam Lawson had a tough first race with Racing Bulls at the Japanese Grand Prix following his demotion from the Red Bull team.
Yuki Tsunoda didn’t fare much better than Lawson, despite overtaking him on the opening laps, as he failed to score a point at his home race.
It leaves Red Bull once again relying on the heroic performances of Max Verstappen, as he somehow fended off both McLaren drivers to win the race.
However, further down the grid, there were some other performances across the weekend that left former driver Ralf Schumacher slightly concerned.
Lewis Hamilton had a weekend to forget as his move to Ferrari continues to stumble, but at least his race seat isn’t at risk.
However, for Alpine driver Jack Doohan, the weekend couldn’t have started any worse, and despite signs of improvement, Schumacher is still concerned about his level of performance.
READ MORE: All you need to know about Alpine F1 Team from team principal to lineage
Ralf Schumacher doesn’t think Jack Doohan is ‘guaranteed’ to race for Alpine in Bahrain
Schumacher was working as a pundit on Sky Sports Germany for the race at Suzuka and shared his thoughts on the young Australian’s display.
He explained: “He’s driven by his own team, but also by his driving.
“He makes a lot of mistakes and isn’t fast enough. One more thing happened this week.
“Ryo Hirakawa, who got into the car in the first practice session, was right on par with Pierre Gasly. He got in and made this fatal mistake.
| Position | Constructors’ Standings | Points |
| 1 |
McLaren Racing |
111 |
| 2 |
Mercedes-AMG Petronas |
75 |
| 3 |
Red Bull Racing |
61 |
| 4 |
Scuderia Ferrari |
35 |
| 5 |
Williams F1 Team |
19 |
| 6 |
Haas F1 Team |
15 |
| 7 |
Aston Martin F1 Team |
10 |
| 8 |
Racing Bulls |
7 |
| 9 |
Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber |
6 |
| 10 |
Alpine F1 Team |
0 |
“This will be analyzed from a team perspective. At the moment, he’s overwhelmed by the situation.
“We’ll sit down with him, and I’m curious to see what happens. He’s not guaranteed to be in the next race.”
READ MORE: Who is Alpine F1 driver Jack Doohan? All to know from his girlfriend to dad
Why Jack Doohan could be under pressure at Alpine sooner rather than later
F1 Oversteer revealed that Doohan’s final Alpine race could have been in Japan, given the number of reserve drivers waiting to take his place.
Ryo Hirakawa did a decent job in FP1 but Doohan could have done with that hour in the car.
Doohan’s FP2 crash was huge, and not only shook him up, but also took away some valuable time he needed in the car.
Solid job JD 👊 Up FOUR places 😎 pic.twitter.com/cruFLh8tX4
— BWT Alpine Formula One Team (@AlpineF1Team) April 6, 2025
He qualified P19 and while Doohan made up more positions than any other driver in the race, he still finished behind teammate Pierre Gasly and well off the points-paying positions.
Jacques Villeneuve warned Doohan about his future ahead of the race, and while he didn’t necessarily do anything wrong, the pressure being put on him by Flavio Briatore means that he needs to produce something extraordinary to keep the likes of Franco Colapinto at bay.
Colapinto has been at Imola while the Japanese Grand Prix was going on and Doohan will have to hope that run was pre-planned and not organised in relation to his recent displays.
