Jack Doohan may have just signed his way out of Formula 1

Jack Doohan, son of motorcycle legend Mick Doohan, may lose his Alpine Formula 1 seat in just 6 races. This reminds me of the Red Bull contract palaver in the last few years.

Rumour has it, that Jack Doohan only has a 6 race contract. If he doesn’t perform to a specific standard, which would have been clarified in his contract, he will be replaced by a driver. But who could it be?

Let’s go through the contenders from most likely to least likely.

Franco Colapinto

This man has taken this sport by storm, although I feel he has been a bit overhyped. Don’t get me wrong; his debut race at Monza wasn’t bad at all, with a solid and deserved P12 and the highest finish of a P8 in just his second race. But as soon as Colapinto drove on a track he hadn’t driven on before or in conditions that didn’t suit the car or him, he struggled a lot. But Alpine seem to like him and has seen what he is capable of doing, as he has just been signed as the official reserve driver.

Paul Aron

Paul Aron is an impeccable driver. He had a Mercedes Young Drivers contract back in Formula 3. But when he got promoted to Formula 2, he lost his contract and had to fund a season with Hitech GP by himself. He was on the podium almost every weekend but only clinched the top spot once for the Qatar Feature Race. Clearly, Alpine liked that, and by New Year’s, Aron was signed up for the Alpine Young Drivers Program.

Victor Martins

The Frenchman has experience in Formula 2 and was in championship contention in 2023 but struggled with the new regulations in 2024. The new regs made the Formula 2 car act more like the way a Formula 1 car would act with ground effect. Although he did win the Spanish Sprint Race. Martins finished P7 in the championship, hoping he has done enough to stay in his seat for 2025.

Felipe Drugovich

Felipe Drugovich isn’t in the Alpine Driver Program and has been out of a Formula 1 seat for three years after winning the 2022 F2 title. He now races in IMSA for Cadillac and is in the Aston Martin Driver Program. He tests the current Aston Martin Formula 1 car and is rumoured to be just three-tenths slower than Fernando Alonso, a two-time world champion. Although this is a long shot, as he is imbedded in the Aston Martin team.

Other Options

There are other possible options within the Alpine Driver Academy, all of which are in Formula 3 or below. Alpine would have to ask the FIA for permission to let them jump categories to F1 with insufficient super license points.