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Doohan in Danger? The rookie who's F1 future could be cut-short by a superstar reserve

Writer's picture: Rhonan ColquhounRhonan Colquhoun

Updated: Jan 18

Rhonan Colquhoun 12:49pm 17th January 2025


JACK Doohan’s Formula One career is already under intense pressure and massive speculation. The Alpine driver is reported to only have a few races to prove his worth or his career may be over before it really began.

 

Doohan is the driver under the most pressure heading into the start of the 2025 Season with the Australian only reportedly having until late April to secure his seat for the rest of the year.


DREAM COME TRUE: Jack Doohan's dream of becoming a Formula One driver came a race earlier than expected

 

Doohan competed in the final race of the 2024 Season in Abu Dhabi with Alpine on short notice after former driver Esteban Ocon and the French team agreed to terminate his contract a race early.

 

The expectation of his first full weekend in the sport wasn’t set as high as it normally would have been for a rookie given that his unexpected call-up was more designed to give him some time to get use to procedures ahead of his debut this year.

 

Doohan was the slowest of the 20 drivers after his first qualifying session – ending up just shy of two tenths of a second behind the next driver.

 

He was classified in 15th place and despite being lapped, Doohan endured an uneventful but clean race, but the result didn’t impress Alpine’s Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore who classed Doohan’s performance as “okay.”

 

Since the conclusion of the 2024 Season, everyone has been gearing up for a new year of racing – but Alpine’s recent signing may have already set the wheels in motion earlier than expected.

 

The 21-year-old is being kept on his toes by fellow Formula 2 graduate Franco Colapinto who has signed a long-term deal with Alpine from 2025 onwards as their Test and Reserve Driver.


WAITING IN THE WINGS: Franco Colapinto might not have to wait long until he's back behind the wheel of a Formula One car


Alpine have been able to wrestle Colapinto away and pay rival team Williams a lucrative sum to secure the Argentine’s services after impressing during only a short stint last year at the Grove outfit.

 

Colapinto replaced Logan Sargeant towards the latter half of the 2024 campaign – scoring points in only his second race. By this time, there was growing interest from two parties who were interested in his services for this year – Red Bull and Alpine.

 

Williams, who had Colapinto on a long-term deal after being part of the team’s roster of drivers since 2023, had already secured the services of out-bound Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz to partner Alexander Albon for this year.

 

Another points finish would come in his fourth race but from then on, the wheels on a successful debut would start to come off as a number of high-profile crashes, particularly in Brazil and Las Vegas, meant that talks between the interested parties died down – but conservations still fizzled between Colapinto's management and Alpine.

 

Williams were keen on making sure that, if Colapinto left the team, he would leave having signed a deal that secured his future first and foremost.

 

Insiders have suggested that even though Colapinto would have assumed the role of Test and Reserve Driver at Williams for 2025, there would have been little chance of racing with the team in the next few years given that the Grove outfit has arguably one of the strongest driver line-ups on the grid in Sainz and Albon.

 

His move to Alpine – although he’s signed as a Test and Reserve Driver – now means that he and his management sense an opportunity that a race seat may come sooner rather than later.

 

Alpine’s signing of Colapinto places huge pressure on Doohan’s shoulders and with the recent rumours that speculate that his contract only allows him security of his drive for six races.

 

With any contract signed within Formula One, there more often than not, are performance clauses embedded. Sergio Perez’s recent departure from Red Bull after being 285 points behind team-mate and World Champion Max Verstappen proves that every driver is susceptible to these.

 

There’s a fear that it may not be the first full six races of the 2025 Season which starts in Albert Park, Australia but would have included last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix which means Doohan would only have the first five races once the season starts.

 

Many analysts and commentators have come out and said that the ball is still in Doohan’s court as he’s the driver in the race seat at the current moment – and that he is in control of his own destiny which depends on how he drives in the opening segment of the season.


If Doohan struggles and doesn't match certain performance criteria, then there will be a massive possibility that he'll be replaced mid-season.


The Australian has his work cut-out if he's to match team-mate Pierre Gasly who had a strong end to last year's campaign which included a podium finish at the Brazilian Grand Prix.


His fifth and seventh place finishes at the Qatar and Abu Dhabi Grand Prix's ensured that Alpine remained ahead of Haas in the battle for 6th in the Constructor's Championship.


Doohan, one of four rookies to make their Formula One debuts this year, will need try and put all the noise behind him and focus on doing the best that he can in the hope of securing his position within the team.


Verdict


The signing of Colapinto is bad news for Doohan. From where the public stands, it looks like Alpine have little, to zero, faith in Doohan's capabilities. Alpine now have a good pile of drivers to choose from with the likes of Victor Martins, Paul Aron and Gabriele Mini but it looks like Colapinto has jumped ahead in the queue and will be the first pick if Doohan does not meet the expected criteria.


Unfortunately, it seems like at some point this season, Doohan will be out and Colapinto will be in.

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