F1 rookie Jack Doohan recently told Sky Sports F1 whether or not Franco Colapinto’s reserve driver role at Alpine is a source of pressure.
Doohan, having only raced in Formula 1 once when filling in for Esteban Ocon at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, is nowhere near as experienced as Colapinto, who has nine F1 races under his belt.
There is pressure regardless
In a reel shared to the Sky Sports F1 Instagram account, Doohan was asked if he feels “undermined” by Colapinto’s presence with the team. He disputed this.
“No, I don’t,” Doohan said. “Maybe I should, I don’t know. I don’t really understand that as a question.”
“I’ve been told he’s a reserve driver,” he continued, “and I think, regardless, you’re one of 20 Formula 1 drivers in the world, and I know when I was a go karter and in Formula 3 [and] Formula 2, I would do anything to be a Formula 1 driver and sacrifice everything.”
He further explained that competition is in the nature of the sport, and that he welcomes any pressure.
“If it’s someone inside the team, outside the team, anyone that’s performing well, you’re always going to have pressure on your shoulders because you’re in such a cutthroat sport,” he said.
“Whatever pressure there may be,” said Doohan, “I look forward to enjoying that, you know, embracing it.”
Colapinto spent the last nine races of the 2024 F1 season racing for Williams, in place of Logan Sargeant.
He finished in the points twice, becoming the first Argentinian driver to score points since Carlos Reutemann at the 1982 South African Grand Prix.
Fans share their thoughts
Along with proving himself as a driver, Colapinto found his way into the hearts of fans, leaving many disappointed when he wasn’t given a seat in 2025.
When the official F1 Instagram account announced that Colapinto would be a reserve driver for Alpine in the upcoming season, several fans left comments implying that he should be racing instead of Doohan.
One fan went so far as to say, “Well, we might as well already say goodbye to Jack…”.
Fans of Doohan, however, agree with him that they don’t understand the question of whether or not Colapinto is a threat.
Commenters on the reel from Sky Sports F1 made statements such as, “Why ask that? Let him enjoy his first days in F1”, and, “That really is a stupid question.”
Featured Image Credit: Alpine Media Library
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