Oakes acknowledges thatAlpine did not put Doohan "in the best possible position" during the offseason

It's a confession we didn't expect at the end of this Australian Grand Prix. After the first round of the season, Alpine admitted to being very hard on Jack Doohan during the off-season. The Australian, who did not go further than the 5th turn of the first lap on home soil with a crash in the rain, was put under pressure by the arrowed A before his first full season in Formula 1. Flavio Briatore had let go, during the winter, that he would not hesitate to change one of his drivers during the season – implicitly targeting Jack Doohan – if he wasn't performing well enough. Add to that the recruitment of four reserve drivers, including Franco Colapinto and his sponsors, and you find yourself with Jack Doohan under threat even before the first race of the championship.

Jack Doohan's future has been at the heart of the hype surroundingAlpine during the off-season and fueled numerous rumors. For Oliver Oakes, the French team holds some responsibility for this general excitement. "I think it's fair to say we caused a lot of noise. I think we didn't put him in the best possible position, admitted the Team Principal ofAlpine, reports Speedcafe. On the other hand, we have a duty to perform as a team, with 900 people depending on us to do the right thing for the team. But I feel for him because at the end of the day, all this noise was probably caused by what we did."

Warm relations between Doohan and Oakes

Better still, Oliver Oakes defended his driver's performance this weekend in Melbourne, despite an early retirement on the first lap. "Out of six recruits, did two finish? So he's not the only one, stressed the British leader. It wasn't a mistake either. Obviously, that's something you don't want to happen, but it wasn't a racing incident or a mistake. He was just caught off guard, and he wasn't the only one. (…) For my part, I comforted him and said, 'Come on, mate, let's go back next weekend.' He had a great weekend and wanted to keep it going. And for us on the team, it's really good. The dynamic between him and Pierre, working with the engineers, is great to see – we haven't had that for a while."

Oliver Oakes and Jack Doohan have reportedly held discussions regarding the Australian's position at the French team and the speculation surrounding his future.Alpine believes that his driver is currently handling the media pressure surrounding him and that he has his full support despite his accident in Melbourne. "He didn't need any reassurance because I think he knows very well how F1 works: you have to perform. He's also a solid guy, said Oliver OakesYou can see that nothing seems to scare him. The way he got out of the car today after the accident, part of me thinks he wanted to be more upset, but it's obvious he knows that. He's upset for the mechanics, but he also knows he has to keep going next weekend." It remains to be seen whether this relationship of trust will last over time. Jack Doohan's performances in the upcoming Grands Prix will set the tone.

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