Alpine’s early axing of Jack Doohan from its lineup ahead of the F1 Imola GP has drawn widespread criticism from fellow drivers, who called the move “unfair” and “incredibly harsh.”
Doohan, who served as Alpine’s reserve driver for several seasons, was confirmed last summer to be stepping up to a full-time race seat alongside Pierre Gasly for 2025. He made an early debut at the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi.
Alpine appears to be adopting a Red Bull-esque approach regarding its drivers. Doohan has been demoted and replaced by Franco Colapinto after six rounds. The 22-year-old Australian will remain under contract at Alpine, assuming a reserve driver role. The team intends to operate its second seat alongside Gasly on a “rotational” basis.
Doohan is the second driver to suffer a mid-season exit in 2025. Earlier in the season, Liam Lawson was similarly demoted from Red Bull after just two race weekends and replaced by ex-teammate Yuki Tsunoda. Red Bull’s sister team, Racing Bulls, provided something of a cushion, allowing Lawson to remain on the grid despite the disappointment.
Several drivers have spoken out in support of Doohan in the wake of the abrupt reshuffling at Alpine ahead of the F1 Imola GP.
A show of support from the rookies after “harsh” demotion
Doohan’s early exit was one of the big talking points in the paddock on media day.
Haas rookie Ollie Bearman spoke out against the situation, criticising Alpine’s lack of long-term commitment and the unfair pressure put on Doohan from the outset.
“Very difficult in that situation to have that pressure weighing over your head already from race one,” Bearman said of Doohan ahead of the F1 Imola GP, slamming “this trend of kicking people out straight away.”
“I can only imagine it was a horrible situation and I feel like his treatment was very unfair. And coming from his position, being a rookie myself, it’s very difficult. Especially the first quarter of the season, we’ve gone to, I think, four out of six tracks have been new for us as rookies. We’ve had two sprint events—which are even more difficult for us as rookies.
“And before you even get to the European season, where there are the tracks he knows, he’s already thrown out of the car. So, incredibly harsh, in my opinion.”
Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar didn’t mince his words.
“Even before the season it smelled a bit bad,” he stated. “Because I think he entered the season with a lot of pressure, expectations. So not a really good environment—and it feels quite unfair, because six races in, he didn’t have much time to show anything, and it’s not like he has a rocketship as well. A bit harsh.”
Although Red Bull’s junior program is infamous for its ‘sink or swim’ environment and prone to mid-season driver swaps, Hadjar insisted he was afforded more grace at Racing Bulls.
“Yeah, I didn’t have a gun to my head before starting the season! It’s definitely helping. I have good support here, since day one.”
Experienced drivers weigh in
Alex Albon is among the drivers that experienced a mid-season demotion firsthand. The 29-year-old was at one point forced to take a year out of F1, competing in DTM in 2021 and performing reserve driver duties while still affiliated with Red Bull.
“I know Jack is a hard worker, I’ve seen the work that he was putting in last year in the simulator and doing a good job with the test programme,” Albon said.
“He’s very committed as an individual, I don’t think he needs any more motivation than he has. More than anything it’s just to dig his heels in, get stuck in and try to prove yourself. It’s always really difficult, I know that position of ‘trying to prove yourself but you’re not driving the car’.
“I don’t know what programme Alpine have given him in these next five races, but I’m sure he’s already going to be doing as much as he can to help the team to progress. Proving yourself without driving is a very difficult and mentally tough position to be in but I think he has it in him.”
Current championship leader and fellow Australian, Oscar Piastri, shared his thoughts on the situation. Piastri also came up as an Alpine academy driver before joining McLaren after the team parted ways with Daniel Ricciardo in 2022.
“It’s a tough situation all round, I think,” said Piastri.
“It was a short time in F1 for Jack. Franco’s coming in with these five races, which is also not easy circumstances to come back into F1. For Jack, he can be proud of what he’s achieved. He still became an F1 driver and no one can take that away from him.”
Doohan tipped for F1 return
Esteban Ocon, who worked closely with Doohan during his time at Alpine before moving to Haas, shared his thoughts in the F1 Imola GP drivers’ press conference on Thursday.
“Unfortunately, not really any surprise from some of the decisions that have been taken recently by the team,” he commented. “Obviously, sad for Jack. I’m sure he’ll be back in F1 at some point. He showed some really strong moments this year where he qualified super well and he’s also been super quick in the car, which was good to see.
“On the other hand, Franco also deserves to be in F1. Last year he showed some great things with the Williams car. Unfortunately, there are not enough cars on the grid to fit all the talents that are out there.”
Reflecting on Doohan’s situation, Lawson said his talent warranted more time.
“Yeah, I spoke to Jack. Obviously for him it’s very tough,” Lawson said. “I think he showed enough to stay in Formula 1 for sure. How can you be expected, in five races, to show everything you have in your rookie season?
“Unfortunately it’s very cut-throat, but as Esteban [Ocon] said, he did enough for sure, and he’s done enough to come back. But with twenty seats, it’s very, very tough. Every team makes their own decisions.”
Tsunoda added: “I think in previous races he’s gave it all.
“I’m sure there are a lot of races that didn’t go the way he wanted, but he did well in Miami Qualifying and seems a nice guy. I think in terms of pace he was there, it’s just other stuff that is probably coming from experience.
“I respect the amount of work that he [gave] and I’m sure he’ll come back strong, either [in] Formula 1 or other categories.”
Gasly “got on very well” with Doohan
The Alpine driver was more measured, noting that he welcomes Colapinto as a teammate, but empathises with Doohan.
“What I’m going to say is I got on very well with Jack: a very nice guy, quick driver,” he said.
“Obviously a rookie in Formula 1, which is tough, especially in a very strong field, this year with a lot of quick guys. It hasn’t been the easiest way into Formula 1. On my side as a teammate and, also friend, I tried to support as much as I could on and off the track.
“I don’t really have much more to say. The decision is from the team.
“We have a lot of drivers as a team and feel the need to assess the performance of Franco, who’s done very well last year. That’s obviously the reason why also he was brought in to have this possibility.
“But on my side, I like Jack, I like Franco. I think we worked well with Jack and that’s pretty much it.”
Gasly was demoted from Red Bull to Toro Rosso in the summer of 2019 after struggling to keep up with teammate Max Verstappen. The Frenchman was replaced by Albon, who was subsequently shown the door after the 2020 season. Both drivers have since moved on from the Red Bull family, signing with Alpine and Williams, respectively.
A word of advice
Asked what advice he’d offer Doohan, Gasly said: “Focus your mind on the things that matter.
“There’ll be a lot of noise, there’ll be a lot of negative energy surrounding him. But as a driver and as an athlete, you’ve just got to put that aside and just focus on your business.
“I had the chance to be at the wheel every other weekend and to show my speed. On his side, the work will be at the simulator and a couple of…whenever he’ll be [in], he’ll have a chance to be behind the wheel. I think it’s mentally not easy, but you’ve just got to keep strong.”
