Jack Doohan given brutal ultimatum, ‘abuse’ turns nasty in F1 showdown

Aussie Jack Doohan is under huge pressure before the F1 season has even begun, and the showdown with the man tipped to replace him has turned nasty.

Jack Doohan might only have three races to save his F1 seat from his replacement-in-waiting Franco Colapinto as the pressure mounts on the Aussie ahead of the season opener in Melbourne this weekend.

Doohan made his F1 debut at last year’s season ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix before being elevated to a full-time seat at Alpine following Esteban Ocon’s move to Haas.

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Doohan finished 15th on debut in Abu Dhabi as strong performances from Pierre Gasly helped Alpine secure sixth spot in the constructors championship.

The 22-year-old son of five-time MotoGP world champion Mick Doohan is already under the pump before the season has even started after Alpine signed highly touted Argentine Franco Colapinto as a reserve driver.

Colapinto made his debut with Williams last season and impressed with multiple top 10 finishes, but Carlos Sainz’s move to Williams left Colapinto without a spot on the grid.

Alpine reportedly paid Williams 20 million euros (A$34 million) to recruit Colapinto on a long-term loan deal and the 21-year-old reserve driver has plenty of financial backing.

The Age reports Colapinto’s business backers were tipping in $US500,000 (A$791,000) per race for his brief stint at Williams last year and Argentine sponsors have followed him to Alpine.

Australian Jack Doohan is under the pump before the season even starts. Photo: Alpine (Supplied)

Alpine's reserve driver Franco Colapinto is waiting in the wings. (Photo by BENJAMIN CREMEL / AFP)

Colapinto is expected to be trackside in Melbourne this week and his shadow will loom large over Doohan’s shoulder, much like Liam Lawson’s presence hovered around Daniel Ricciardo at VCARB last year.

Alpine executive adviser Flavio Briatore has made it clear Doohan will only have a handful of races to impress before the team considers putting Colapinto in the car.

A scene in the new season of Netflix’s Drive to Survive documentary depicts an ominous discussion between Doohan and Briatore as the team boss makes it clear in no uncertain terms where the Aussie stands.

The veteran Italian boss tells Doohan in a meeting: “I control you every millimetre.”

F1 paddock insider Michael Schmidt said Briatore won’t be too patient with Doohan, giving him just the first three races in Australia, China and Japan to make his mark.

“He (Briatore) has two very good reserve drivers in Franco Colapinto and Paul Aron and Colapinto might also bring him a bit of sponsorship money,” Schmidt told the Auto Motor und Sport YouTube channel.

Jack Doohan might have only three races to save his career. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

“Yes, actually you should give him (Doohan) more time, but we all know that Flavio Briatore’s fuse is short.

“What I hear is that Doohan gets exactly three races and he has to be within three-tenths of Gasly.

“He will be replaced when he is half a second behind Gasly. I would say after the Japanese Grand Prix he will be gone.”

The looming showdown between Doohan and Colapinto comes as Colapinto’s management condemned social media abuse directed towards the Aussie as Argentina fans clamour for Colapinto to be given a full-time seat.

In response to a post on X urging people to “stop posting nonsense on Alpine’s account”, Jamie Campbell-Walter from Colapinto’s Bullet Sports Management reprentatives replied: “Well said!

“The haters who think they help Franco, you are doing him more harm than good.

“Insults to the team, to Jack and sometimes to other supporters of Alpine.

“Franco and all of us who support him are fans of the whole team, Pierre (Gasly) and Jack.

“Conduct yourselves with passion but not abuse and arrogance. Franco’s time will come but not like this, you will achieve the opposite.”

Jack Doohan (top left) is the driver under the most pressure heading into 2025. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

1997 F1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve believes the influence of Briatore on the Alpine will give the team that finished ninth in last year’s constructors championship a sense of urgency.

“It’s a different team now,” Villeneuve said, per YaySweepstakes.com.

“It’s really difficult to understand the politics, the balance, but Flavio Briatore is there to clean up and everybody’s at risk.

“Jack Doohan is under a lot of pressure because he’s been an extra driver for too many years doing testing and so basically not racing.

“Not racing for long there’s always the risk that you might lose your mojo and you become complacent so that’s a little bit difficult.

“The race he did last year at the end of the season wasn’t impressive. You know you get one race at the end of the season you have to be a bit tougher.

“It wasn’t impressive when you put him under that pressure so it will be good to see how he reacts to that pressure now. I hope it goes well. You know he’s a nice guy. He’s passionate. “He’s been working hard at it for a long time. He’s prepared himself and it would be a shame if all this preparation came to nothing.

“He has to drive out of his skin. He has to be at the worst on Gasly’s level. Like, not even behind, on his level. Like, a few hundredths in front or behind, but just there, at worst. And he actually needs to beat him.”

F1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve says Jack Doohan is in a tricky spot at Alpine. Photo: Clive Rose/Getty Images/AFP.

Villeneuve believes if Colpainto was to replace Doohan, he wouldn’t have too much pressure on him to perform given Alpine’s position as one of the weaker teams on the grid.

“Yeah, Franco Colapinto came in with a bang, then did a little bit too much damage (in crashes) and tarnished it a little bit after the initial positive image he earned, but he’s still viewed as a super quick driver.

“He is there trying to take one of the two seats, obviously. He’s the one that has no pressure on his shoulder so it cannot go bad.

“He’s in the slowest car you know so it won’t matter too much if he beats the competition, that would be a wow, what a surprise. If he doesn’t, people won’t really mind.

“He needs time to learn so it won’t do any damage to him. He’s the one with the least pressure on his shoulders which should allow him to learn and perform.”

Watch every session of the Australian Grand Prix on Kayo Sports.

Originally published as Jack Doohan given brutal ultimatum, ‘abuse’ turns nasty in F1 showdown