Doohan delivers straight bat to thorny crash question

Jack Doohan has straight-batted a question regarding his use of DRS in the 185mph accident in practice for the Japanese Grand Prix.

After sitting out FP1 for Alpine reserve Ryo Hirakawa, Doohan crashed heavily at Turn 1, with the impact being measured at just shy of 200mph as the Alpine A525 machine was destroyed. 

Doohan passed concussion checks at the medical centre and was cleared to participate in the remainder of the weekend, with Alpine confirming that the cause of the accident was Doohan trying to go into Turn 1 flat-out with the DRS open, something he had tried in the simulator. 

Normally, when a driver presses the brake pedal, the DRS flap automatically closes, but if a driver simply lifts off the throttle, the flap must be closed manually by pressing the activation button. 

When asked about the incident, Doohan kept the situation closely guarded.

"You know, it is something that we discussed internally," Doohan told media including RacingNews365. 

"We've gone over it, and yeah, we are just trying to maximise the rest of our weekend now.

"When I am in the car, I feel fine and I am pushing through."

Doohan ultimately qualified 19th fastest, ahead of only Lance Stroll who made a mistake on his final flying lap in Q1, but felt that the progress he had made from FP3 - his track true on-track running of the weekend was a positive step. 

"It is about my confidence, but also getting the car more to my liking through those high-speed corners," he added. 

"I look back now, and I think I maybe could have been a few tenths away from Pierre, and I can guarantee that [the gap] was through Turn 2 and maybe a bit into all these entries of the high-speed corners, which is not surprising. 

"But I am happy with the step made from FP3 to qualifying, because on the time-sheets, I looked 14th, but I was probably 20th, and so with small improvements, we have to be happy."