- AUSSIE Jack Doohan already under significant pressure
- Will need a solid performance in the Australian Grand Prix
While Circus F1 arrives in Melbourne for the Australia Opening Grand Prix of the season, the rookie Jack Doohan is already in danger of losing his work with the Alpine racing team.
With the roar of the engines in Albert Park just a few days away, the 22 -year -old is under the microscope, dealing with the abuse of fans, a formidable teammate and a precarious seat.
Doohan, son of the Mick Doohan motorcycle racing icon, was taken to the team to replace the outgoing Esteban Ocon, but then the executive director of Alpine, Flavio Briatore, signed the Argentine driver Franco Colapinto as the reserve driver by 2025.
The decision to sign Colapinto has caused some questions about Doohan's future in the team, with Briatore claiming that the Australian would begin the season with Pierre Gasly, with the team ready to make a decision about his alignment later in the campaign.
Rumors around Paddock F1 speculate that Doohan can have three races to impress, so it is better to take advantage of it.
Some say it can have less.
“Flavio is not wrong,” said former F1 Ralf Schumacher star in a recent interview. “If Jack does not match Pierre Gasly's rhythm in Melbourne, he could be out of Japan (at the beginning of April).”
The rookie Jack Doohan is already under the weapon in Alpine before the opening of the F1 season
The 22 -year -old will need a solid performance in Melbourne this weekend.
To worsen things, the talented collapint is extremely popular in his country of origin and has an important commercial interest behind him.
Many of Argentines' fans have resorted to social networks to express their frustration with the situation and abuse Doohan, which led to the Management of Colapinto to intervene and tell fans to “stop publishing nonsense.”
“The enemies who think they help Franco are doing more harm than good,” published Jamie Campbell-Walter in X.
'Insults to the team, Jack and sometimes other Alpine supporters.
'Franco and all of us who support it are fans of the entire team, Pierre (Gasly) and Jack.
'Driving with passion but not abuse and arrogance. Franco's time will come but not so, you will achieve otherwise.
Doohan has received the support of the F1 commentator David Croft, who has asked Alpine leadership to publicly support the young gun.
“I'm going to defend Doohan,” he said.
Franco Colapint (in the photo) was signed as the Alpine reserve driver by 2025, which immediately leads to speculate that he can take the position of Doohan
Doohan has received the abuse of the many collapint followers before Sunday's race
'I thought I had bad luck in Abu Dhabi. In the first races in the qualification, it was a tenth of Pierre Gasly, and there is no shame in that.
'Then they sent him to traffic, his tires cooled, they lost grip. It started lower than I was going to do. The instruction was to take the car home and keep it safe.
'What seemed like a bad trip was doing what the team asked.
'Flavio Briatore or Ollie Oakes must leave and say that “Doohan is our man for the year.” If they do that, speculation stops.
Unfortunately for Doohan, that has not yet happened.
A solid result in Melbourne will silence critics for a while, but it can be left aside before the season really starts.
“It is quite hard for Jack Only Franco to feel in the bank throwing bananas, hoping that he will slide and fall or simply feel there and wait for Jack to do a bad job,” said F1 expert of F1 Karun Chandhok.
“That is a pretty bad vibration to have in your garage in boxes.”