Watch: Jack Doohan hobbling from the crash debris of his car after the 300kph crash during the F1 Japanese GP
Jack Doohan had a horrific crash during the second free practice session in Japan. His A525 suffered a sudden snap when turning at turn 1, leading the car to end up in the crash barriers mere seconds later. The Aussie driver was then taken aback from the crash as he recollected himself.
The 22-year-old Alpine junior driver was called up to F1 after Esteban Ocon's decision to depart from the team. However, a few months later, his job security became one of the biggest talking points in the paddock as the team signed Franco Colapinto as one of the reserve drivers.
The signing of the Argentinian was understood to have other intentions as Colapinto had major South-American backing, and Jack Doohan appeared to be the main loser in the whole picture. With only a few races given to him by the Alpine management to showcase his worth in the F1 grid, the Australian driver entered his third F1 weekend with a target on his back.
Regardless of his expectations, his free practice running came spiralling down as he tried to take the turn 1 flat out with DRS open, which led to a catastrophic crash.
Knowing the short time to prove himself, there is a lot of pressure on Jack Doohan to save his dwindling F1 career.
Former F1 champion reveals the mind game going in Jack Doohan's camp
Observing Jack Doohan's plight, former F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve revealed the mental toll that the 22-year-old is having to go through. Being oblivious to the fact that another driver waiting in a queue to take your seat was not an easy task, which also reflected in the Aussie's driving.
Sharing his insights on the shenanigans revolving around Doohan, Villeneuve said, via Crash:
"The problem is that he has known, since before the first race, that he probably won’t finish the season. He has been put under tremendous pressure by Flavio Briatore, mainly, with Colapinto in the wings."
“He is having to prove that he’s better than Gasly, so they should keep him. When they have told him ‘do a few races then you’ll probably be replaced…’ You can see it in his driving. It’s not comfortable. When a driver is in that situation psychologically, your driving will not be natural and small mistakes will start happening."
Meanwhile, FP2 witnessed four different red flags. This resulted in the Ferrari pair tallying in the highest total for any F1 team during the session, at 28 laps.
However, the scarlet duo was unable to dethrone the McLaren drivers from the top of the timing sheets, as Oscar Piastri led a 1-2 finish for the Woking-based squad in FP2, with Lando Norris following closely behind.