How can we explain Jack Doohan's accident at Suzuka?

Jack Doohan's situation is getting worse every week. After his first-lap crash in Melbourne and a very difficult weekend in Shanghai, where he picked up four penalty points on his points-based license, the Australian only had time to complete three laps before smashing his car during Free Practice 2. At the start of his stint on hard tyres, the driver Alpine suddenly lost the rear of his car at high speed and ended his race by violently hitting the tire barrier on the outside of the first corner, at around 260 km/h.Alpine A525 was destroyed and Jack Doohan, although dazed, was able to get out of his car with the help of track marshals.

RED FLAG 🚩
HUGE JACK DOOHAN CRASH 🤯

The pilot Alpine says he's fine on the radio after crashing his car at full speed in the first corner.#JapaneseGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/WNgMAB8PCZ

— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) April 4, 2025

Visibly disoriented, Jack Doohan caused some concern about his health, with fears of possible trauma. Fortunately, an hour after the end of Free Practice 2, Alpine confirmed that his driver was fine and did not suffer any concussion after a visit to the medical center. After precautionary medical examinations, we can confirm that Jack is fine. Now we will work hard to get the car ready for tomorrow." At the microphone of Canal+, Pierre Gasly confirmed that his teammate was already back in hospital. Alpine when the session ended.

Following precautionary medical checks, we can confirm that Jack is ok.

Now we're working hard to get the car ready for tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/JpiNChzkgw

—BWT Alpine Formula One Team (@AlpineF1Team) April 4, 2025

The DRS called into question

The reason for Jack Doohan's sudden excursion and loss of control remains to be determined. The main hypothesis for this accident, reported by Canal+, is that the Australian made an error regarding his DRS. Indeed, at Suzuka, the first corner is completed without braking or decelerating on entry. Without any action on the brake pedal, the DRS remains automatically open, and it is up to the driver to manually deactivate it using the dedicated button on the steering wheel. Jack Doohan apparently forgot to press this button and was surprised by the lack of downforce generated by the rear wing.

Moreover, in the radio conversations, Jack Doohan did not seem to understand his exit from the track, immediately asking "What happened?" to his race engineer, Stuart Barlow, who replied succinctly: "We'll get back to you, buddy. We're looking into everything that happened on our end." The Australian had just started his fourth lap of the day, having handed over his seat to Ryo Hirakawa for Free Practice 1. The 22-year-old rookie – who had never driven at Suzuka before – was therefore in the middle of a discovery session this Friday, and crashed after just 11 minutes of the session.

A mistake by Doohan… andAlpine ?

This premature accident calls into question the choice ofAlpine to leave Jack Doohan on the sidelines for Free Practice 1, in order to place Ryo Hirakawa there. The Australian, already lacking confidence after two complicated weekends, started Free Practice 2 without any real experience of the circuit, without any running in his legs, and with the desire to do too well to prove his worth to the French team. Already under pressure since the beginning of the season, Jack Doohan is not helping his case with this violent crash which compromises his weekend and that of the arrowed A. Behind, some reservists, including one in particular, are waiting for their turn...

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