Formula 1 Japan GP 2025: Jack Doohan’s Saturday performance under a repaired Alpine-Renault A525 at Suzuka Circuit

Say what you want but Jack had to make the most out of himself from nothing when he didn’t get to run opening practice yesterday because Ryo Hirakawa was there and then he suddenly crashed at high speed going into Turn 1 when he forgot to turn off the DRS – glad to hear he was okay on what has been a scary one indeed.

Look at Pierre with his own if it wasn’t for Jack’s China PU replacement as well as the repaired chassis, then at least he would make Q2 again & sit in 12th-15th. 

It’s not easy work when his engineers had to race against the clock all night long just for Jack to get back in the car again the next day but now he has to be point from 19th so he can show some race pace for race day tomorrow. 

As long as he stays out of it and not crash again like it was with his unexpected debut at Abu Dhabi last year, you’ll see.

2025 Formula 1 Race Day Japan: Jack Doohan not bad from 19th to 15th coupled with his good start, planned tire strategy & scrambled defense through the finish line

It wasn’t a bad day for Jack Doohan in 15th thanks to his good start from 19th along with his scrambled defensive race moves & a well-timed long run strategy.

Alright he could’ve done anything a bit better especially without much use of the DRS had he not let Pierre pass him when it’s a team calling after Pierre lost his way in the pits.

Then Carlos Sainz did pass him with a few laps to go for 14th when his Williams car is powered by a Mercedes engine & not a Renault one + also his tires worked well in his favour unlike Jack on older hard sets.

But he has came from a long way though from a high speed crash into Turn 1 the other day Friday to getting the most out of a repaired A525 because at the end of the day, he’s just wanting to have a clean race like he always wanted from Round 1.

Formula 1 2025: What does Jack Doohan need to improve going into Bahrain this weekend for Alpine-Renault?

F1 continues for another round, another consecutive weekend out of three this week in Sakhir, Bahrain, where all ten teams and 20 drivers were there two months ago with pre-season testing.

Hopefully this serves a good opportunity for Jack to come back better with four races under his belt as we always know he’s good with raw pace over one lap.

But there’s a few other things in mind he must fix in order to fight for points ASAP:

His cornering which scares me at times where Pierre is clearly better than him in that area – can’t see him slipping up a bit time and again when one little mistake can blow things up from there in an instant.

Okay, he’s great defensively with his defensive driving but must not commit those ill-disciplines like running people off the track like he did in China despite luck going his way in the end in 13th place.

And he must not make any more silly mistakes please! Yes, his Lap 1 crash back in Albert Park was the one where he only raced wets in an F1 for the very first time.

Also yes, his freak Suzuka crash at high speed going into Turn 1 in the afternoon practice session on Friday has divided opinion too, which took the whole overnight to get that A525 majorly repaired. Although he handled it brilliantly even with injured ribs through the very end from Saturday qualifying to Sunday race.

However, he must know that simulator work and real track work are two different things. So better err on the side of caution by sticking with the real track work where you must close DRS by yourself before you hit the breaks on the next corner.

If he can fix those three real-life mistakes, then we could see the very best of Jack after all from here – that’s what I want to see if Jack is reading this here, right now.

Don’t forget Alpine is still the only team out there without points so far in 2025, so Jack can be the first person to meet that target if he can really improve past with my three huge concerns as said above.

And Top 7-8 will do it…over to you Jack.

2025 Formula 1 Bahrain Qualifying: Jack Doohan to start 11th with team-mate Pierre just inside Top 5 for Alpine-Renault

Must say that this weekend has been promising so far not just from Pierre but also Jack too in both Alpine-Renault cars.

Hats off to Pierre being the team leader out of this including his amazing Q3 performance & his FP1 lap times too that puts him in 4th ahead of tomorrow.

Even though Jack made a bit of mistakes here and there, his run ain’t bad either where he also had some sound practice times including his extended run into Q2 and almost got into Q3 just by a hairline or two. But starting 11th tomorrow? It’s a good time to chase up now & go for the best possible Top 7-8 points as he can.

Not holding my breath just yet…

But as long as he does not crash (please!) and as long as he does not make up more some silly mistakes and as long as he is being careful while fighting like a dog, happy for JD7 to go all in and leave Sakhir, Bahrain from there filled with confidence. 

Nothing more he could ask other than points, points, points…over to you Jack.

Formula 1 2025 Bahrain: Pierre Gasly gifts Alpine’s first points of the year in 7th with poor tire control & yellow flag pushing Jack Doohan down to 14th

ppy with Pierre with 7th that finally puts Alpine into the points for the first time of 2025 at Bahrain under lights – brilliant stuff.

He did a great job keeping up even though that A525 may not have the best fight with thanks to that okay Renault engine but at least Alpine are good to go at least in the midfield for now.

For Jack, sad from many people just to criticise him so easily when it comes to the result because he finished 14th, even if it was for the track limits penalty.

But on paper, he was actually fighting in the points zone for the first time at least 8th to 10th – shame that last part didn’t quite work out (seen that before with Racing Bulls) due to poor tire control + a yellow flag was out at one time also.

So that’s on Alpine then…

They better continue to support whatever they can just for Jack’s sake so he can fight all along with track spots, that’s all.

And amazing to see Aussie Oscar win that race again for McLaren-Mercedes, no doubt he could be World Champion if he continues to push himself & hold off Lando & even Max against the very best.

Formula 1 2025: What to do from Jack Doohan to finish out races strong going forward into Saudi Arabia for Alpine-Renault this weekend

Looks like Jack Doohan will be given more chances now in that Renault-powered Alpine A525, so good news there following a huge past few days – especially with the European leg set to start later next month.

What he has to do now is finish those next races strong where he has to stay there the whole way through like he did for 2/3rds of last week’s Bahrain round.

Although his engineers do need to be in sync but at the end of the day, Jack is the one responsible to post results and needs to turn up there without any risk of punishing penalties in each and every post-race right after the checkered flag.

Hope he can reach that next elusive step as long as he knows what to do including tire management (very crucial!) and how he can get out of these tricky situations every time the safety car comes around and not crash considering the next two rounds are also tricky street circuits too.

Top 7-8 along with more decent qualifying runs is the go from here….

Formula 1 2025, Saudi Arabia GP: Jack Doohan lots to catch up from 17th following a tough weekend so far

Jack is not happy me included and so does everyone else working at Alpine including the fans cheering for the team itself other than Pierre Gasly who continues to keep in check with the Top 10 zone.

As said, that Saudi street track in Jeddah is extremely tricky in a risk v reward situation – good for some but not so much for others even if he’s a rookie at F1 level.

So far it didn’t go Jack’s way with his tire management and discipline for the wrong reasons but at least he didn’t crash though and isn’t the slowest out either.

Again, he will have to work harder from 17th on the grid and be in sync with his crew upstairs that will hopefully take 50 laps to get past his best result 13th or even better with points for the first time.

Formula 1 2025, Saudi Arabia GP: Pierre Gasly into the wall first lap by Yuki with poor strategy and tire management letting Jack down again in 17th

Two things: Jack needs to manage his tires better as whoever calls the shots on that one needs to really help him out.

He did make up a few positions with Pierre already out unfortunately first lap thanks to Yuki, just couldn’t see him finish any better when Jeddah is much as difficult of reaching Top 10 from the back like Suzuka – same with everyone else in the midfield.

My two cents at the end of the day and don’t at Jack and even New Zealand’s Liam Lawson in the Racing Bulls when he has the European races to hopefully redeem himself & will continue to support him the best possible until then. End of.

And good on now championship leader Oscar once again with the win for McLaren over Max (2nd) & Leclerc (3rd).

Thoughts on Jack Doohan revealed to have own sponsorship that could help secure his future at Alpine worth €10 million according to Ralf Schumacher

1-2 days ago, Ralf Schumacher has revealed on his podcast with a renowned racing journalist together from Germany that Jack Doohan does have his own sponsorship to the table after all.

Wondering which sponsor could that be? Don’t know if one is listed somewhere on the Alpine F1’s list of sponsors page on their website or would probably assume it’s Jetcraft where his dad Mick runs the business even though Jetcraft does not appear on the A525 cars at all.

That really helps when it comes to his future at Alpine nonetheless as just hoping he can really get these good results as soon as Formula 1 is back next weekend in Miami after a long three-week doubleheader of Japan, Bahrain & Saudi.

It’s about time Jack proves others wrong including Ralf where he was almost at the thick of it in 9th at the time at the Bahrain GP two weeks ago until a safety car ruined everything while his last weekend’s run in Saudi was ruined by poor strategy and tire management. 

So while the team do really need to help him out in order to finish races strong, Jack has to be the one delivering as still a long way to go – especially with the European rounds set to kick off after Miami next month.

And just want to point out that Ralf’s brother Michael is family friends with Jack’s legendary MotoGP dad Mick btw.

He can say whatever he wants/likes but yeah, Jack is coming after you Ralf.

Formula 1, Miami 2025 Saturday: Jack Doohan to start 14th following another Q2 with some track time on the wets earlier in the sprint race

Different Saturday for Jack with some track time under wets where nothing much happened in the 2nd sprint when Alpine let him down following a frustrating Friday but another Q2 run puts him in 14th tomorrow just four places ahead of Pierre Gasly.

While it’s not bad news, Pierre did get a single point also from the sprint over in 8th (was originally 11th) earlier in the day. 

Here’s hoping Jack can stay on track consistently & finish that race strong with his game day performance in F1 terms for tomorrow’s 57-lap race – as long as the staff get his strategy right and him not crashing out & avoiding penalties.

He has to be spot on so Jack can be there & stay inside the Top 10 points zone.

Formula 1, Miami 2025: Alpine to blame for Jack Doohan’s DNF after an embarrassing weekend from top to bottom

What a let down by Alpine once again stabbing behind Jack Doohan’s back and the same goes to Pierre as well.

This weekend at Miami was a race where he always got the best out of his one-lap pace in qualifying that got himself ahead of Pierre Gasly for the first time but then he was stuck in a sticky situation with thanks to Liam Lawson from the Racing Bulls-Honda on the very first lap out at Turn 1.

Just admit the only time Alpine can really be winning the midfield is through luck as no use going back to the jackpot Sao Paolo race last year.

They’re in between Sauber to Racing Bulls level at the back end of the grid to be honest and not even close to Ambitious Aston either with Williams or Haas clearly favourites for the 5th best in the Constructors’ Championship.

Meanwhile, Oscar is happily living the dream and guess what? He’s won yet another race and has continued to stretch his lead in Drivers’ Points with McLaren.

Formula 1: Signing off for now on what has been quite a journey from Jack Doohan at the hands of the embarrassing Alpine mis-management games 

The man lucky enough to get out of the Alpine circus games who now leads the Drivers’ Championship with McLaren: Oscar Piastri.

The man too good for Alpine and would be in a top team maybe he could be Oscar’s team-mate if Lando leaves at some point: Pierre Gasly.

And unlucky to be kicked out to the curb also by this same mismanagement circus (it’s on both Flavio and Luca – very disappointed & utterly embarrassing): Jack Doohan. 

Here’s hoping someone can help him get back to Formula 1 at another team like Andrew Forrest, who owns the Western Force in Super Rugby, and has deep pockets to put in $$$ at what’s best. 

Meanwhile, Alpine with Flavio and Luca are clearly not good enough & don’t belong in Formula 1 when all of those mis-management circus games puts them deservedly last on the grid and they better sell up ASAP like to Rich Energy’s William Storey – a passionate F1 fan. 

Sure, the decision from Renault to close down engines which is absolutely ridiculous has put him off unfortunately after preparing one for around a year. 

But surely, Mecachrome can cover his costs to build and assemble one instead 100% and they’re still as much as passionate to Formula 1 likewise with Mercedes, Ferrari, Honda, Audi, Cadillac and Red Bull-Ford Powertrains unlike Marketing-only & un-serious Renault.

At the end of the day, Oscar is your man for all things F1 – go get em!

Formula 1: Jack Doohan’s Albert Park memories ahead of his season-campaign opener on home soil later this week at Alpine

Jack Doohan’s next task at Albert Park awaits especially on his home front from racing in F2s back in 2023 to being reserve driver last year along with a special ride in one of those old Enstone-built Benetton cars from the 90s alongside his legendary dad’s bike that also won him a few world championships there.

What can Jack walk away this time then as a first-time Formula 1 driver? Let’s hope it can turn out well with race points based on his pre-season testing feedback from two weeks ago in Bahrain.

Although the chances of winning are of course a long shot since Alpine is currently not on the same pace as McLaren-Mercedes and Red Bull but at least Top 7-10 finishes should be enough to keep him beyond the season opener plus the four other race clause survival.

Final Thoughts ahead of Jack Doohan’s next practice session tomorrow at his home track Albert Park for the Australian Grand Prix with Alpine-Renault

In about 12-14 hours from now, Jack will be back behind the No.7 Alpine-Renault A525 to build on the work he picked up from pre-season testing as his target is to clock respectable Top 10-12 lap times.

That’s all we want to hear.

A Good Friday session can mean a good Saturday’s worth of qualifying and also race day Sunday. 

Sure he’s learnt a lot by now other than the basic 1st step of keeping his car clean which is what Pierre has also done all of last season while able to fight the top teams at the same time and Pierre has been setting up those standards every now & then.

Let’s get behind him first & foremost 100% with confidence & let him handle that pressure under traffic also 100%.

Now the tables are on Jack who is more than ready to split the race field with raw pace + his own 7 iron & go into a comfortable situation where no one else is able to ignore him – I mean in a good way – so he can stay with a team who is currently giving him a red hot go at Alpine.

Formula 1: Not a bad Friday from Jack Doohan with both Top 15 lap times across both practice sessions for Alpine-Renault at Albert Park

It wasn’t a bad day for a start from Alpine’s own No.7 after all across Fast Friday who was 13th in the first session and 14th in the 2nd session and he’s all ahead of his team-mate Pierre Gasly.

Goes to show Jack is damn quick with raw pace & can manage his tires well especially when he’s through the straights with that super soft tires as if he’s on the drag strip. That’s what we know best about him so far & also important to bring that kind of skillset for the best possible start of his Formula 1 career.

Although he had an issue or two when it comes to the cornering where the first session had to be up on hold for a bit (red flag) after he made a mess with the gravel while he may have scratched the floor of his A525 at Turn 10 & asked the team to check on his way back in the garage.

Thankfully he’s okay & that weakness isn’t new anyway as they just want to make sure he’s good to go on Qualifying day tomorrow so his target again is to make up respectable Top 10-12 lap times & then it’s all on Jack to score points come Sunday.

Formula 1 Saturday at Albert Park: Jack Doohan into Q2 for the first time but will start 14th with Alpine team-mate Pierre Gasly starting 9th ahead of race day tomorrow

Glad to hear some more excellent Jack Doohan moments across today’s Qualifying day where he was 10th fastest at the first part out of three that puts him through into the second stage for the first time.

That’s a huge step up off the back of his promising start of the home weekend based on the two practice sessions yesterday & also from his unexpected Abu Dhabi debut back in December 2024.

Yes, things didn’t go his way with little time that gone against him unfortunately – could’ve been a close 11th or even 10th again + a first-ever Top 10 shootout.

But still, starting 14th out of the 20 cars ain’t bad as it’s all about being at his personal best and do understand he wants to save it for the best of last.

This is where he wants to be while upping the ante for Top 7-10 points so he can keep his car clean from start to finish even under wet conditions (another strength of Alpine late last year with team-mate Pierre starting 9th) ahead of race day tomorrow.

F1 Albert Park Sunday 2025: Jack Doohan’s home debut ended early at the expense of difficult conditions under wets

Unlucky there from Alpine’s No.7 Jack Doohan whose first home race unfortunately ended that early when racing under wet weather in a Formula 1 car for the first time proves to be so difficult & it’s a shame he’s unable to get himself back out on track.

Don’t forget he isn’t the only one to experience this as seen with Carlos Sainz and fellow rookie Isack Hadjar.

All eyes on Pierre now to bring home a good finish for the other Alpine A525 now as there’s always China next weekend to build on his good one-lap pace across practice & qualifying – and surely his first race points will come his way next time.

Update: Gasly finished 11th with some good moments at some stage in 3rd-4th but then another rain hail forced a reshuffle and almost got slipped up after he lost some track position – at least he’s home safe and sound.

Formula 1 Chinese GP 2025: Jack Doohan’s mixed Friday from power steering issues to being a match with his team-mate Pierre Gasly in Shanghai at Alpine-Renault

Things may not have gone his way today when it comes to the problems of the car during the one and only practice session by Jack Doohan at Alpine such as that power steering issue while the Renault engines he’s got there didn’t help much at present.

However, one thing he done good though on opening day Friday in Shanghai was being on par with his team-mate (Pierre Gasly) where he was slightly faster than him – despite both unable to get past the first stage of sprint qualifying.

Although there’s another chance coming up early tomorrow where Jack will roll off 16th & Pierre in 17th for the first selected sprint race of the year.

And if it wasn’t for that super Ollie Bearman timed lap at the last minute for Haas-Ferrari, then Jack could have gone through to another second round of qualifying for a bit longer right there. 

For now, let’s hope the car can give Jack the boost he needs this weekend starting with solid Top 10-12 outings both sprint race & feature qualifying.

Tough Saturday in the office at Alpine-Renault alongside Jack Doohan from the sprint race to feature qualifying in Shanghai

It wasn’t the day Jack Doohan wanted to see and hear from the top brass at Alpine on big day Saturday from the sprint race to feature qualifying.

Let’s start by replacing his PU count that seems to be the achilles heel of his sprint race setup when Pierre was a few places ahead of him from 17th to 12th while he was right in between 18th-19th before he got into Gabriel Bortoleto whilst trying to get past him on the last lap for 18th and he came home last.

Yes, his raw pace is on par as always even though the team’s qualifying run were bang average for both cars in Q1 as he will have to start 18th & Pierre from 16th.

But at the end of the day, he just needs to be bit more careful with the cornering as if we remove the “drag racing” part from this sport. That’s where he got so wrong a few times even on the dry conditions including the last turn of his last-pitched timed lap – let’s hope he can fix all of that, so he can follow the $$$ for tomorrow.

Formula 1: Pierre Gasly not bad once again just outside Top 10 with the new PU fit and another odd cornering mistake coming from Jack Doohan in 16th (later 13th) at Shanghai

Not much going on today in Shanghai from Jack other than the new PU fit not helping him much in between 14th to 16th when Pierre wasn’t bad just outside Top 10 while he could’ve gambled a bit with the mediums where Ollie Bearman and Lance Stroll was able to look past his shoulder.

Yes, he was able to make up 1-2 spots that late over both secondary Red Bulls but just can’t believe he forced Isack Hadjar off the track at that same corner where he got into Gabriel Bortoleto from the opening sprint race early yesterday & he got a penalty for it from 14th now 16th.

Don’t know much else to say but shame there’s no recourse, plus he still needs to improve his cornering (that should help him better when overtaking drivers without being silly) & most importantly, that poor Renault engine he’s got right now.

Also shoutout to fellow Aussie Oscar Piastri with the win for McLaren-Mercedes!

Update: Felt sorry for Pierre whose car was caught underweight along with two Ferraris and they were all DQed, so Jack finished 13th instead – could’ve been 11th if it wasn’t for that penalty. But again, he still needs to keep up going into Japanese round.