As Alpine chief Flavio Briatore demonstrated in 2025, Red Bull isn't the only organisation in Formula 1 capable of making brutal driver decisions. Rookie Jack Doohan was still getting started when a brace of incidents was enough for him to face the axe, with a high-speed Suzuka crash the most high-profile mistake that saw the Australian demoted to a reserve role after round six in Miami.
It meant we never got to see Doohan's ultimate potential, as despite his crashes it did feel like he was starting to get the hang of the difficult Alpine A525 and get closer to team-mate Pierre Gasly on one-lap pace. At the conclusion of the season, Doohan is still on the outside looking in, expecting to head to Super Formula in 2026 after conducting testing in Suzuka.
