Welcome at RacingNews365

Become part of the largest racing community in the United Kingdom. Create your free account now!

  • Share your thoughts and opinions about F1
  • Win fantastic prizes
  • Get access to our premium content
  • Take advantage of more exclusive benefits
Sign in
Jack Doohan

Has Doohan Suzuka mistake sealed his F1 fate?

Jack Doohan has been under intense pressure at Alpine since before the start of the F1 season and it does not appear to be subsiding for the Australian after another painful mistake.

Doohan crash Japan
Article
To news overview © XPBimages

Jack Doohan made a costly error in the opening minutes of the second free practice session at Suzuka - and it could become even more expensive.

Having missed FP1 due to Alpine reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa taking part in the first hour of the Japanese Grand Prix weekend, the 22-year-old was already on the back foot.

Heading into the first corner on his second push lap, Doohan suddenly spun, hurtling towards the barriers on the outside of Turn 1.

The massive impact destroyed his Alpine, bringing out the first of four red flags that session and leaving the driver himself shaken and questioning what happened.

The team confirmed he was not concussed after the crash, but his worries did not end there.

It was later revealed the cause of the crash was the Australian failing to manually close DRS on his car, as is required at the start of the lap at Suzuka on account of the braking zone beginning after the initial turn in.

Already under considerable pressure to perform, with Franco Colapinto waiting in the wings, the huge collision will further heap scrutiny upon Doohan.

After a first lap mistake at the Australian Grand Prix and a difficult - and oftentimes scrappy - weekend in Shanghai, he is running out of opportunities to impress.

It begs the question, is Doohan already a dead man walking at Alpine?

Let us know what you think by leaving a comment and by voting below in the latest poll by RacingNews365.

Also interesting:

WATCH: Fires and horror crash stoke Japanese GP chaos

Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes and Nick Golding, as they dissect a crazy Friday in Japan which saw two fires and a 185 mph crash!

Explore the latest F1 results and every stat you can imagine - From Max Verstappen to Michael Schumacher and from Ayrton Senna to Lewis Hamilton — explore every stat from the first Grand Prix to the latest race.

Explore the RN365 Stats Hub

Join the conversation!

Never miss a thing from the Formula 1 season! Add the 2026 F1 schedule to your calendar at the touch of a button. Subscribe below and put the dates and times of every race directly on your PC or smartphone, so you don't miss a second from the new season.

Download the F1 calendar Download the F1 calendar

A variant with just the race and qualifying is also available.
Click here to download it..

F1 calendar 2026
Race Date
jpn Japanese GP 29 Mar 2026
usa Miami GP 03 May 2026
can Canadian GP 24 May 2026
mco Monaco GP 07 Jun 2026
esp Barcelona GP 14 Jun 2026
aut Austrian GP 28 Jun 2026
Full calendar
x
LATEST F1 drivers facing reduced Japanese GP threat after sudden change