Mick Doohan lifts lid on son Jack’s ‘unfair’ Alpine exit

Five-time motorcycle world champion Mick Doohan has stepped up and accused the Alpine F1 team of treating his son Jack Doohan unfairly in a saga that now raises uncomfortable questions about how decisions were made behind closed doors.

What was once framed as a routine driver change has taken on a sharper edge, with Doohan Sr’s remarks hinting at a deeper story – one involving shifting loyalties, premeditated moves, and a young driver left exposed before his career had truly begun.

Jack Doohan’s rise to Formula 1 was meant to be the culmination of years within Alpine’s junior system. Signed as a long-term project and promoted to a race seat alongside Pierre Gasly, the expectation was stability – at least initially.

Instead, the narrative began to unravel almost as soon as it was written.

A seat lost before it was secured?

The arrival of Franco Colapinto and his Argentine backers as a reserve option – engineered under the watch of executive advisor Flavio Briatore – triggered speculation that Doohan’s position was already under threat.

Within six races of the 2025 season, those whispers became reality, as Colapinto stepped into the seat from the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix onward.

For Mick Doohan, the sequence of events was anything but coincidental.

“I really can’t comment on that, but I think it was unfair,” the Aussie said. “It was from the start. They replaced a driver before the season even began. And, basically, that was it.

“My son had a long-term contract; he was Alpine’s first junior driver to arrive. It was clear, for reasons I can’t say, that a different direction was taken.

“And that’s all there is to it. Look, Jack is a strong young man, and his plan is… He’s racing now, in Barcelona [in the European Le Mans series], with a race car.”

The phrasing is careful – but the implication is unmistakable. In Doohan’s view, the decision to move on from his son wasn’t reactive. It was already in motion long before the first lights went out.

Fallout – and a pointed parting shot

Jack Doohan’s abrupt exit left him scrambling for opportunities, including a failed attempt to secure a drive in Japan’s Super Formula series. A return to Alpine in a reserve capacity offered a temporary lifeline, but the relationship appeared irreparably strained.

Now, a new chapter is unfolding elsewhere.

Doohan Jr has since secured a reserve role with Haas F1 Team, while also competing in endurance racing – an opportunity his father pointedly contrasted with his previous situation.

“He’s with Haas F1 now, as a reserve driver, looking to secure a seat and with a team that’s more committed to contracts,” he made clear.

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It’s a closing remark loaded with meaning – less a passing comment, more a thinly veiled critique of Alpine’s handling of agreements and expectations.

In Formula 1, driver changes are rarely free of politics. But the Doohan episode, now amplified by a father unafraid to speak his mind, carries an added layer of intrigue.

Because this is no longer just about performance or results—it’s about trust, timing, and whether a driver’s fate was decided before he ever truly had a chance to prove himself.

And in the high-stakes world of Formula 1, those questions don’t disappear easily.

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