Doohan is set to partner Pierre Gasly at Alpine this season in place of Esteban Ocon.
The Australian was promoted from the squad’s reserve driver role, a position he’d held for two years, and gained an early race opportunity at last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
However, speculation surrounding his future has been rife and only accelerated when Alpine hired Franco Colapinto from Williams earlier this month.
The Argentine driver made a strong impression during a nine-event stint last season but is without a race drive for 2025.
With Williams’ line-up settled for the medium term courtesy of Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz, Colapinto accepted an offer to become Alpine’s reserve driver.
The move has been seen to heap pressure on Doohan, though the team insists it fully supports the 22-year-old, a point reaffirmed by team boss Oakes.
“It’s been a little bit harsh on Jack, some of the stuff that was written by the keyboard warriors there, and he’s getting his fair crack at it,” Oakes insisted in an interview with the James Allen on F1 podcast.
“I think the intention there isn’t to put [pressure] on his shoulders, it’s genuinely to give the team options further down the line.
“For me, F1 is fine margins.
“There’s a load of people who are depending on a driver to deliver each weekend, and we need to make sure we’ve got the best drivers in the race car, not just now, but also in the future.”
While fans have been critical of the Alpine driver situation, pundits have also expressed concern.
Three-time race winner Johnny Herbert went so far as to suggest Doohan is on “red alert” courtesy of Colapinto’s arrival.
“I think Jack Doohan will believe he’s on borrowed time already, when I’m speaking to people, they feel exactly the same thing,” Herbert told Casinoutanspelpaus.io.
“Doohan has got to deliver, and if he doesn’t deliver against Pierre Gasly, I know Flavio Briatore very well, Doohan will be out.
“He’ll be out as quick as he blinks. So pressure’s on his shoulders now for him to perform.
“That’s part of the sport, unfortunately, especially in Formula 1, it’s not always full of budding roses,” he added.
“It’s a massive amount of pressure for Doohan, but that’s what the deal is. You have to get in the car and you have to perform.”
Briatore is an advisor with the team, appointed by Renault Group boss Luca de Meo. The flamboyant and controversial Italian is also Doohan’s manager.
Nonetheless, Alpine insists Doohan’s fate is in his own hands and, provided he performs, is safe in the drive alongside Gasly with Oakes insistent that Colapinto’s appointment is part of the squad’s longer-term planning—as was signing Paul Aron as reserve driver.
“For us as a team it’s great to have that roster of two young drivers in Paul and Franco there waiting in the wings, because it’s not just about 2025; 2026, 2027 is around the corner, and it’s hard in F1 to plan what’s going to happen and what drivers you’re going to have to go in the car,” Oakes reasoned.
“For us, it just keeps everyone honest in terms of how they’re performing and gives us options.”
Colapinto’s stock rose sharply on his F1 race debut as he recorded two top-10 finishes in his first four races.
However, he failed to finish three of the final four events of the season and had a spate of crashes that damaged his reputation such that interest from Red Bull dwindled.
Those incidents also hurt his chances of better results as, after a tumultuous season in terms of crash damage, Williams had to revert to previous spec parts for the 21-year-old’s car.
“I think Franco made a great first impression with Williams,” Oakes noted.
“I think it was clear to see that he probably tried a bit too hard at the end there.
“How much of that was the situation he was in, where he didn’t have a seat confirmed and was trying to over-impress, and how much of that was a compromise on parts on the car, that’s hard to calculate.
“But I think the crux is he made a strong impression with the speed he showed.”
Discussion about this post