Flavio Briatore’s plans disrupted? Jack Doohan under pressure from ex-F1 driver. Jack Doohan is under pressure at Alpine as ex-F1 driver Johnny Herbert questions his future.

After an underwhelming debut in Abu Dhabi, Jack Doohan had to deal with pressure from the media and, above all, from the Alpine leadership and Flavio Briatore during the winter. His crash in Japan didn’t help either, but it seems the Australian is gradually gaining the team’s trust.

Johnny Herbert has commented on the performance of Alpine’s new driver, who replaced Esteban Ocon starting from the last Grand Prix of 2024. In recent weeks, all the noise around Jack Doohan has quieted down, but according to the former British driver, his future is still not secure. “It all depends on Jack and his performance. I hope there won’t be so many mistakes involved.”

Comparing him to his teammate, Herbert suggested that Jack Doohan is showing improvement, and that this could put Franco Colapinto’s return at risk. “The qualifying pace is very close [between Doohan and Gasly, editor’s note]. So it’s probably a bit of a headache for Flavio Briatore, because I think he wanted everything to be swept away, for Jack to be mentally destroyed, and then he could quickly make that change.” Herbert is referring to replacing the Australian in favor of Colapinto, who made his F1 debut at the 2024 Monza GP and is currently without a seat.

The Brit also emphasized that improving in qualifying does not secure Jack Doohan’s seat, because he still needs to deliver when it matters most over the weekend. “The race is where he needs to use all his energy—whether negative or positive.”

Herbert has no doubt that if a replacement happens, it will be Franco Colapinto who takes Jack Doohan’s place. “Flavio is well aware that other people are probably interested.”