“It was unfair”: Jack Doohan’s father calls out Alpine over his F1 sacking

• Mick Doohan labels Alpine’s treatment of son Jack as fundamentally unfair.
• Evaluating how a point-less six-race rookie stint led to a premature exit.
• From Alpine junior to Haas reserve: Jack Doohan’s fight for F1 redemption.

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Mick Doohan reflected on his son Jack being let go from Alpine, regarding it as unfair and believing that they clearly wanted to take a new direction after his departure.

The Australian driver was announced to be racing for Alpine alongside Pierre Gasly in 2024, the same year he also debuted briefly to replace Esteban Ocon at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

However, as a rookie, he wasn’t given an entire season to develop his racecraft and settle into the team while also allowing them to properly gauge his performance across every round, as he was ousted after just six races.

While Alpine stated that they had mutually decided to part ways, most reports suggest he was likely let go due to performance issues and costly on-track incidents.

Mick Doohan’s take on Alpine letting go, Jack

In a conversation with Spanish news outlet Marca, Mick Doohan reflected on the Alpine and Jack’s situation in 2025, declaring the team’s call to part ways with his son as “unfair.”

He said, ““I really can’t comment on that. But I think it was unfair. It was from the start. They replaced a driver before the season even began. And basically, that was it.”

He further opened up about his son’s long contract and speculated on the F1 team’s potential plans. “My son had a long-term contract; he was Alpine’s first junior driver to arrive. It was clear, for reasons I can’t say, that a different direction was taken. And that’s all there is to it,” he elaborated.

After Franco Colapinto took over Doohan’s seat, he was demoted to the reserve driver’s role. However, he parted ways with Alpine earlier this year, earning a reserve driver seat at Haas.

Mick spoke about Jack’s “resilience” while revealing his current venture and hopes for the future to get back in a seat at F1. He wishes that he might secure a seat at Haas, who he believes is more “committed” to contracts. Apart from his F1 role, he also teamed up with Nielsen Racing for the 2026 European Le Mans Series.

Summary of Doohan’s 2025 Season:

Australian Grand Prix

Started P14 and crashed on Lap 1 under wet conditions.

Chinese Grand Prix

During the sprint race, he received a 10-second penalty for his collision with Gabriel Bortoleto. Was handed over another 10-second penalty at the final race for an incident with Isack Hadjar and ended up outside the points.

Japanese Grand Prix

A costly DRS mistake disrupted his FP2 session. He ended the grand prix at P15, gaining only three places in the entire race, following his P19 qualification.

Bahrain Grand Prix

Finished P14 and was hit with a penalty for track-limits violation.

Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Qualified and finished P17 due to a strategy mess-up.

Miami Grand Prix

Finished P16 in Sprint. His final race ended in DNF after his Lap 1 collision with Liam Lawson.

As is evident, Doohan failed to score a single point across his six races. Although he was a rookie, several incidents and penalties during this period held the team back, and therefore, they might have acted out in their best interest. Despite the bad things that occurred to Doohan, he does deserve a second chance to prove himself.