Doohan slowly but surely solidifying spot with Alpine

Jack Doohan’s rookie season with Alpine is apparently on solid ground, with the Australian driver reportedly meeting the team’s expectations, quelling fears of an early exit.

Speculation had swirled even before the start of the 2025 F1 season that Alpine might replace Doohan with reserve driver Franco Colapinto if he faltered in the opening races.

However, recent performances have eased those concerns, potentially ensuring the 22-year-old’s place for the full campaign.

Doohan’s season began with promise, though not without hiccups. A crash in FP2 at the Japanese Grand Prix raised eyebrows, but his overall progress has impressed Alpine.

At the Bahrain Grand Prix, he narrowly missed Q3 by just 0.017 seconds and fought for points until late tyre degradation left him 14th.

His synergy with teammate Pierre Gasly has also fostered a positive dynamic, with the pair openly sharing setup insights to boost performance.

Oakes Praises Doohan’s Growth

Alpine team principal Oliver Oakes has been vocal about Doohan’s development, and offered a positive review of the 22-year-old’s efforts in Bahrain.

“At the end of FP2, we weren't particularly competitive as a team. We struggled a little bit on the soft tyre,” he explained.

“So the work that went on overnight, the discussion, and that was both drivers, because Jack was a little happier, and Pierre and him, they were really open. That's good in the team when you see your two drivers bounce ideas off each other, and share a little as well.”

Oakes further highlighted the duo’s collaboration.

“Throughout the weekend, you saw it particularly in qualifying between Jack and Pierre. In Q1 and the first run in Q2, Jack was again a little happier than Pierre. Then you see Pierre gets his tools and switches, where he wants things.”

“It's really interesting,” added Oakes, noting F1’s complexities compared to the junior formulae.

• Read also: Gasly rues P6 slip to Verstappen, but celebrates Alpine's revival

“I guess I'm new to it. So from F2, F3, where you're asking them to adapt driving only, you come to F1 and you hear them working with their engineers during a race using all the tools they've got, and it's much more of that.

“As a rookie, you start to learn throughout a weekend, first where you set the car up, what you want from it, but then learning more as you go from a quali car into a race car.

“Jack, to give him credit, he's learning well. You never get much credit in F1 when you're a youngster and everyone's sort of looking at what you're up to.

“But I think he'll definitely feel more confident after this weekend.”

With Alpine’s faith in his ability to perform competitively seemingly growing stronger, Doohan heads to the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix free of the rumors that once clouded his future.

His focus now shifts to building on his early promise and proving he belongs in F1’s fast lane.

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