Jack Doohan reflects on ‘most difficult’ weekend in Formula 1 after gruelling Saudi Arabian GP

Written by Caitlyn Gordon, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri

Credit: Alpine Media Pool

Alpine’s Jack Doohan was left disappointed after another challenging and point-less race for the Australian. Doohan has had troubles adjusting to his Formula One life in Alpine’s A290. Sitting in 19th with zero points, Doohan is one of four drivers yet to score a point in F1. 

Doohan looked to bounce back after a lacklustre weekend in Bahrain, hindered by track limit penalties. 

With previous experience around the Saudi Arabian circuit, the Australian was hopeful. However, as the weekend began, Doohan struggled in vast comparison to his teammate, Pierre Gasly.

Struggling to find the pace to exit Q1, Doohan lined up on the grid in 17th. Gasly on the other hand qualified in ninth, his third appearance this season in the Q3 shootout. 

As the sun set on the circuit, and the lights went out, the race for redemption began. Doohan came into the pits on the second lap during the safety car after Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda and Gasly collided on the opening lap. 

Doohan opted for the hard tyres which only a small proportion of the grid were running on. In a weekend which saw low degradation, the strategy was for Doohan to run to the end with the hard Pirelli tyres. But during the halfway mark, the Australian struggled meaning he had to return to the pits for a second stop, hindering his efforts of recovery. He crossed the line in 17th. 

Following the race, Doohan looked at the positives and hopes the same mistakes won’t be made in future grands-prix: “I think we just have to focus on our strengths and if we put everything together on one lap, we can be there in Quali.

"I think then that will make everything a little bit easier, will make our strategy a bit more simple and would not pressure us into having to do such adventurous things to try to make up for it.

“Here, there was a lot more going on and some more difficulties, but we’ve got to keep our heads down and chins up.”

Doohan continued his statement, labelling the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as ‘one of his most difficult days in Formula One’:

“A combination of things just weren’t clicking. The first stint just wasn’t looking terrible.

“We obviously took the gamble on that first lap Safety Car. I questioned it initially because I was like ‘well, we’ve got 49 laps to go here on this hard,’ and to be honest, I felt quite comfortable in the first laps behind Nico [Hulkenberg].

“Unfortunately, we just didn’t have enough to get past on the straights. Then I would take a lap to not be up his gearbox and let everything cool down, but if I wasn’t at that 0.5-0.6s and was still in DRS, I was just a victim to the cars behind.” 

The difficult weekend brings another dark cloud over the Australian with looming pressure heading into Miami.

Franco Colapinto, one of Alpine’s reserve drivers for 2025, is rumoured to be in the running for a mid-season swap if Doohan’s lack of results continue. The sixth race of the season takes place on the 2nd of May in Miami.