Alpine’s Jack Doohan suffered a huge scare during FP2 in Suzuka on Friday when his car crashed into the barriers at turn 1. He hit the wall hard, and appeared to be injured while walking back to the medical car, which had raised concerns over his participation in the remainder of the weekend.
Doohan, however, insisted he was ‘ok’ on the team radio, which was later confirmed by the medics. The Australian rookie can take part in qualifying and the race, putting this whole incident behind him.
Sadly, Alpine cannot do the same.
This wasn’t Doohan’s first crash of 2025. At his maiden Grand Prix in Melbourne last month, in front of his home fans, he terminally damaged the car, racking up a $677,000 bill for Alpine. He vowed to learn from the incident and hoped to avoid a repeat—but just two races later, the 22-year-old has crashed again, this time adding significantly to the cost.
Doohan lost control of his A525 at the end of the Suzuka main straight and went into the wall at a speed of approximately 160 mph. The car was destroyed, and Alpine—to get it repaired in time—had to dish out roughly $1.6 million.
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Alpine didn’t officially reveal the extent of the damage, but footage showed the front and rear wings, the left side of the bodywork, and both the front and rear suspension completely destroyed. Thankfully, the power unit remained intact.
“The team worked into the night to prepare car No.7 ahead of Saturday’s FP3 and qualifying. All parts have been replaced bar the power unit,” an Alpine team statement released earlier today read.
Doohan on top of the standings
Not the table the Aussie youngster would have wanted to be atop of at this stage of the season—but the Destructors’ Championship is one the F1 community always keeps an eye on. Doohan’s total repair bills have now climbed to $2.3 million after just three Grand Prix weekends, leaving him under immense pressure.
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The Alpine driver is already at risk of losing his seat, with the team having signed the highly rated Franco Colapinto as a reserve—reportedly lined up to replace him if things don’t improve. This crash, by no means, helped Doohan’s cause.
Former world champion Jacques Villeneuve also believed it was the pressure from Colapinto that led to Doohan’s crash in the first place. “The problem is that before the first race, he [Doohan] knew he probably wouldn’t finish the season,” Villeneuve said. “He has been put under enormous pressure by Flavio Briatore, with Colapinto waiting in the wings.”
Thankfully, FP3 turned out to be decent for Doohan. He didn’t look too nervous as he completed his 15 laps around the circuit, finishing P14 on the final timesheets. However, he has still missed out on getting out of Q1—ending up only 19th— which will put him in a tricky spot for Sunday’s Grand Prix.
