Mark Webber’s immediate reaction to Jack Doohan’s crash in Japan will seriously concern Alpine

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Alpine driver Jack Doohan will be aware that a critical decision over his Formula 1 future is looming in the background.

The Japanese Grand Prix saw Jack Doohan make up more positions than any other driver during what was a particularly dull race.

Unfortunately for the Alpine driver, his four overtakes only saw him advance from P19 to 15th, and the Anglo-French outfit are the only team in the paddock yet to score a point this season.

Pierre Gasly is also partially responsible for this, although he’s done far less damage to Alpine’s resources than the Australian.

Doohan’s crash at Suzuka wasn’t cheap, and add that to his opening lap shunt in Australia, and the four penalty points he picked up in China, and suddenly it’s easy to see why he might be under pressure.

It also doesn’t help that young Argentinian driver Franco Colapinto was brought in from Williams over the winter as a reserve driver.

Colapinto took part in a TPC test last weekend and will be in Gasly’s car for FP1 at the Bahrain Grand Prix to crank up the pressure even more on the 22-year-old.

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Speaking on the James Allen on F1 Podcast, journalist Ben Hunt was relaying what he had seen from the Australian driver during his recent press appearances.

Hunt explained: “I think it’s interesting, isn’t it, because you’ve got Colapinto definitely lurking in the background.

“And, I’ve seen it, Doohan can be relaxed and comfortable and then all of a sudden, Colapinto’s name is mentioned in a press conference or he’s present, and his whole demeanor changes.

“He knows he’s under pressure from this guy, and he’s living in his head. That’s essentially what’s happening.

“And he needs to cut out that noise and just focus on what he’s doing.”

Alpine have to take partial responsibility for creating a situation where Doohan feels like he constantly has to look over his shoulder.

The team have by far the most public-facing reserve drivers, aside from Valtteri Bottas at Mercedes, although both of their drivers are living up to the expectations they’ve been set.

Ted Kravitz believes Doohan has until the Miami Grand Prix to prove his worth to Oliver Oakes and Flavio Briatore.

Otherwise, that break in the calendar offers Alpine the perfect opportunity to promote Colapinto into his seat.

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Mark Webber’s immediate reaction to Jack Doohan’s Suzuka crash will concern Alpine

Hunt colleague Matthew Marsh was also in attendance at the race in Japan and witnessed Doohan’s crash alongside former F1 star Mark Webber.

He explained: “I was sitting in the McLaren hospitality area with Mark Webber and Mark, typical brilliant F1 driver, just immediately looked forward like that when they did the replay and just said, ‘DRS was open.’

“[He] immediately spotted [that] the DRS was open, from three-quarters of the car going through on the picture.

“And did he leave it open? Was there a fault with the car? Because I’ve heard that there might have been, and that he’s not saying there was.

“But maybe that’s the reason why the DRS didn’t close, because I don’t think Jack Doohan is no mug and I don’t think he wouldn’t have tried to deactivate the DRS.

“So, I just wonder if we’re hearing the full story, and I don’t really like the way it looks in terms of how he’s being treated.”

While Alpine haven’t come out and said that there was a fault with Doohan’s car, they’ve also been hesitant to confirm that he left his DRS open trying to take the flat-out first corner.

The nature of the upcoming triple header means a good performance in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia will immediately lift the pressure on Doohan.

However, if he makes another costly error, he could be in real trouble.