Axed F1 star Jack Doohan crashes TWICE at same corner in horror debut

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Axed F1 star crashes TWICE at same corner in horror debut

Jack Doohan was axed by Alpine earlier this year

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Thursday 11 December 2025 17:58 Updated: 10:38

Axed F1 star Jack Doohan suffered a nightmare debut in his new racing venture, crashing out twice in two days at the same corner.

Doohan was axed by Alpine just six races into his rookie F1 season, with the Australian replaced by Franco Colapinto, who did not manage to score a single point in the remaining 18 race weekends of 2025.

22-year-old Doohan stuck around at Alpine as a test and reserve driver, but was not called upon again in 2025, with Paul Aron taking over practice sessions as part of the rookie driver rules, and Aron and Colapinto being the only two names given by Steve Nielsen as in the frame for a full-time 2026 seat with the Enstone outfit.

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As it happened, Colapinto held onto the seat, and will race with Alpine when new regulations sweep into the sport in 2026, but Doohan has opted for a different route altogether.

With a move to Super Formula rumoured for 2026, the Australian has been taking part in a three-day post-season test with Super Formula outfit Kondo Racing.

The test has been taking place around Japan's famous Suzuka Circuit, and it appears that it is not Doohan's strongest track.

Doohan crashed out of post-season testing on both Wednesday and Thursday, at the same corner two days in a row. Both times the Aussie was ok, but both times he caused damage to his Kondo Racing car.

The two incidents were quite different too, with day one seeing him spin and collide with the barriers with the rear of his car, and day two seeing him go straight off the track and into the barriers with the front of his Super Formula machinery.

Will Doohan make F1 return?

Doohan wasn't in contention for Alpine in 2026, according to managing director Nielsen, and he also missed out on a seat at new outfit Cadillac, who opted for experience in going for Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez.

It means Doohan will likely face a full season on the sidelines in 2026, hence his desire to move to Super Formula and keep his eye in full-time racing.

But there's no doubt that he will feel hard done by that his rookie season in F1 only lasted six races, and teams up and down the grid will note that Colapinto struggled just as much in the 2025 Alpine as Doohan did.

Therefore, he may well be on the radar for teams ahead of 2027, but only if he can mount a serious challenge for the Super Formula championship next year, something which greatly helped Liam Lawson's cause back in 2023.

F1 Alpine Jack Doohan