Aussie F1 gun Jack Doohan brutally sacked on the spot

Aussie driver Jack Doohan has reportedly been sacked with his Formula 1 team facing a backlash over the brutal move.

Jack Doohan has reportedly been axed.

The Aussie driver’s tumultuous time with Alpine has come to a brutal end with the team reportedly giving him the tap on the shoulder just seven races into his Formula 1 career.

Rumours of Alpine making the call to promote reserve driver Franco Colapinto have swirled since the Australian Grand Prix.

It seems Doohan’s Turn 1 crash with Kiwi Liam Lawson at the Miami Grand Prix on Monday morning was the final nail in the coffin.

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As reported by Sky Sports and the BBC, Alpine are set to make the call to put Colapinto into the team’s second car alongside Pierre Gasly before the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, beginning May 16.

The Race reports Doohan has already been told the bad news.

Jack Doohan will get another shot. Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images.

French driver Gasly has outperformed Doohan throughout the season. Gasly leads their head-to-head battles 6-2 in qualifying (including sprint races) and 5-1 in Grand Prix races.

However, the call to make such a brutal cut so early in the season has led to an immediate backlash against the team.

Alpine are yet to make any public comment about the reports.

Team principal Oliver Oakes said during the Miami Grand Prix that the plan at the time was for Doohan to continue racing for the team.

However, he was far from convincing with the level of support shown to the 22-year-old driver.

“Yeah, as it is today, Jack is our driver along with Pierre. We’ve been pretty clear on that. We always evaluate, but yeah - today, that is the case.”

He added: “Jack needs to continue doing a good job. But it’s natural that there’s always speculation there.”

Doohan had a turbulent weekend in Florida after his team botched its strategy during qualifying for Sunday’s sprint race.

The Aussie driver was livid after a pit lane blunder saw him eliminated in the opening qualifying session. He had been caught in a queue in the pit lane and was not able to get back on track for a final flying lap before the session ended.

Doohan gave his team a serve on radio — and was seen continuing to rant as he walked along the pit lane after the session.

“That’s not acceptable,” he fumed over team radio. “If you’re going to send him [Gasly] before me, you have to make sure he’s ready.

“I can’t turn out and have to turn in because he’s going to turn into me.

“Then you put me out in Q1. That’s a joke.”

His pit wall engineer responded on the team radio with a sheepish “sorry”.

Pierre Gasly and Jack Doohan in the Lego drivers parade prior to the F1 Grand Prix of Miami. Photo: Clive Rose/Getty Images/AFP.

Doohan has not scored a championship point in Formula 1 - but he would have hoped for better treatment than this.

Alpine’s poor handling of its driver line up has seen the team come in for criticism.

The writing was on the wall for Doohan as soon as Alpine made the move to sign Colapinto as their reserve driver on a multi-year deal.

The Argentine had been granted permission to leave Williams in January in order to take the reserve role with Alpine.

Colapinto raced in nine grand prix’s for Williams in 2024 after the team axed Logan Sargeant during the season.

There will always be an argument that Doohan could have achieved much more if the team had given him enough support, but the tough reality was summed up in a comment from former world champion Damon Hill who wrote on X responding to a report about Doohan’s sacking.

“Looks like some drivers need better contracts,” he said.

Doohan can only hope his next contract is much more water-tight.

The BBC reports Doohan is expected to stay involved with Alpine.

Originally published as Aussie F1 gun Jack Doohan brutally sacked on the spot