With just one Grand Prix under his belt – Abu Dhabi 2024 – Jack Doohan is already under fire. Threatening the Australian’s future on the grid is Franco Colapinto, recently signed by Alpine as their third driver and already in contention for a starting role. The decision to bring in the Argentine (with an Italian passport) was strongly pushed by Renault’s new sporting division “supervisor,” Flavio Briatore, who is well aware that the 2003-born driver is already attracting the interest of several South American sponsors ready to back him financially.
Helmut Marko slams Jack Doohan, Jolyon Palmer: “He’s made practically no mistakes!”
As if the pressure from Mr. Billionaire, no stranger to such maneuvers (ask Roberto Moreno, ousted from Benetton to make way for a young Michael Schumacher), weren’t enough, Jack Doohan now has to contend with recent comments from Helmut Marko. “He simply should have proven he could do better,” the Austrian told F1 Insider bluntly. The remark refers to the sole Grand Prix contested by Michael Doohan’s son at Yas Marina, where he finished in an unremarkable 15th place. Judging a driver based on a single race is a tough task, but in a Formula 1 world that moves faster than ever, this is now a reality.
One person not jumping to conclusions is Jolyon Palmer, the former Renault driver and now a radio host in England. “He didn’t show anything extraordinary, that’s certainly true,” Jolyon Palmer explained on the *Chequered Flag* podcast, “but he made practically no mistakes, and I think that’s fine for a young driver. Don’t think it’s easy to be thrown into the car for the final race of the championship. Abu Dhabi is a tough circuit, and you can’t judge Jack based on just one race. I’m looking forward to seeing him in action alongside the many new young drivers on the 2025 grid.”
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