Jack Doohan will be relieved when he hears what Lando Norris and George Russell said about his Australian Grand Prix crash

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Alpine driver Jack Doohan went into the Australian Grand Prix looking to prove a point.

Over the winter months, Doohan faced multiple questions about his Formula 1 future despite having only taken part in a single Grand Prix for Alpine.

Doohan had a difficult Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the end of last year although many of the factors that affected his result were out of his control.

However, Alpine went on to sign Franco Colapinto, Paul Aron, Ryo Hirakawa and Kush Maini ahead of the Australian Grand Prix as reserve drivers, amping the pressure up on Doohan.

Colapinto has been slated to replace Doohan after just a few races but while he’s still in the race seat, his fate is very much still in his own hands.

The young Australian impressed in free practice and was on a similar pace to teammate Pierre Gasly before being eliminated in Q2.

Unfortunately, in some of the toughest conditions any F1 driver will face, Doohan crashed on the opening lap of the Grand Prix.

But Doohan had two supporters in the form of race winner Lando Norris and Mercedes star George Russell who very much sympathised with him.

Lando Norris and George Russell support Jack Doohan after Australian Grand Prix crash

Doohan lost control of his Alpine on the run down to turn eight, potentially putting one wheel on the damp paint and hitting the barriers as a result.

Kimi Antonelli nearly made the same mistake as Doohan and executed an incredible save to keep his car out of the barrier.

READ MORE: Who is Alpine F1 driver Jack Doohan? All to know from his girlfriend to dad

Norris, Russell and Max Verstappen were reviewing the highlights of the race in the cooldown room before heading onto the podium and watching the various crashes that happened.

When they saw Doohan’s onboard camera as he was spinning on the opening lap, Russell immediately reacted with an ‘Oooh!’ before Norris admitted: “I don’t think people realise how easy it is to do that.”

Russell added to Norris’ comment and said: “Yeah, especially with how much standing water there was, you can’t see the lines.”

Jack Doohan had plenty of company after making a critical Australian Grand Prix error

Doohan would have been devastated that he couldn’t complete the first lap and get a full sense of how his car reacted to the damp track.

Alex Albon suggested the conditions would be tough for the rookies and he was absolutely correct with that prediction.

Isack Hadjar crashed on the formation lap and Carlos Sainz hit the barriers in his first race for Williams approaching the safety car.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Alpine F1 Team from team principal to lineage

Fernando Alonso – who Kimi Antonelli joked was a rookie ahead of the race – was the next driver in the barriers, losing control coming out of turn eight, believing he had hit the gravel that was repeatedly being dragged onto the racing line.

Liam Lawson and Gabriel Bortoleto were the final two retirements, both spinning on the same lap during the final downpour of the race.

Oliver Bearman and Antonelli were the only rookies to reach the chequered flag, although the Italian spun during the race and Bearman had two big incidents during practice that marred his weekend.

It shows that even though Doohan’s seat might be most at risk, it’s not because he’s in any way less talented than the other drivers making their full Formula 1 debut.