Alpine criticized for the way they handled Jack Doohan's situation.
"Why are you allowing Colapinto to take the wheel?"
Two former Formula 1 drivers have criticized Alpine for putting Jack Doohan under excessive pressure so early in his career. Even before the rookie Australian began racing in 2025, there were rumors that he was on a brief six-race contract, with Flavio Briatore possibly planning to replace him sooner than expected with Franco Colapinto.
Team principal Oliver Oakes attempted to quell the swirling rumors at Suzuka, where Doohan had a serious crash, but Ralf Schumacher is not convinced. "Excuse me, but if you claim you don't want to replace Doohan, why are you allowing Colapinto to drive?" he remarked to Sky Deutschland, alluding to the Argentine reserve driver's test at Monza just days prior.
Moreover, before his crash, which left him noticeably injured, Doohan had to miss initial practice at Suzuka to accommodate Ryo Hirakawa. "That’s detrimental for someone like Doohan on an unfamiliar track," Schumacher stated. "He doesn’t sense the team's support. They could have done the same with (Pierre) Gasly in Bahrain, but they chose not to."
Doohan, age 22, maintained during the Bahrain race weekend that he was completely fit, despite needing assistance to exit his car after the Japanese GP. Former F1 driver Christian Danner attributes some of the blame to Alpine for his injuries. "If he attempted that maneuver in the simulator and it somehow worked, then the engineer should intervene and advise him, 'I highly recommend you not attempt that in the car,'" Danner stated, referencing Doohan's attempt to take turn 1 flat with the DRS activated.
"That guidance wasn’t provided," Danner commented to motorsport-magazin.com. "They allowed him to nearly walk into a trap. One could view it as making Doohan's situation more challenging than necessary, with the hope that eventually they can claim, 'I’m sorry, but he's just not good enough.'"
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