Jack Doohan crashes out in Miami, heaps pressure on Aussie's spot on grid
Jack Doohan's tough start to his Formula One career has continued after the Australian crashed out of the Miami Grand Prix on the opening lap.
Oscar Piastri won in Miami on Monday morning (AEST), becoming the first McLaren driver since 1998 to win three races in a row as he held off teammate Lando Norris to extend his lead in the championship.
Fox Sports, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every qualifying session and race in the 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship™, LIVE in 4K with no ad-breaks during racing. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer.
But it wasn't such good news for Doohan, who started 14th on the grid but came unstuck at Turn 1 when he made contact with Liam Lawson in an incident that ultimately ended both their races early.
'That's wretched luck for Jack Doohan, who outqualified his teammate Pierre Gasly for the first time,' Sky Sports commentator David Croft said.
Doohan's front left tyre went straight off the rim and he was forced out of the race with a tyre puncture.
Martin Brundle said on Sky Sports it 'wrecked both their races'.
Lawson was fuming, telling Racing Bulls team radio: 'I got completely hit mate, I got no idea what the Alpine was doing.'
The incident continued Doohan's turbulent start to his F1 career at Alpine — his results from the six races so far are: DNF, 15th, 15th, 14th, 17th, DNF.
Doohan crashed out in Australia and suffered a huge crash in practice in Japan last month, which was due to Doohan having the DRS flap on his rear wing open and taking too much speed into the corner.
The son of MotoGP legend Mick Doohan has shown glimpses of strong pace but his spot on the grid will come under scrutiny if he continues to be involved in crashes and rack up DNFs.
Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher believes Doohan's seat is safe for 2025 despite the pressure of Alpine's highly touted reserve driver Franco Colpainto waiting in the wings.
'That's why it's maybe a bit harsh and unfair, but I would say that in relation to the other rookies, you can see that he's someone who might not necessarily be competing for the world championship at some point, so to speak,' Schumacher said on the Backstage Boxengasse podcast.
'And if the money doesn't come in from Colapinto, then I don't think he will be exchanged for the time being, because I hear Doohan also has a sponsor worth $17.7m AUD in the bag, and that has to be paid out somehow.
'I can imagine that he will survive somehow, but Flavio (Briatore, Alpine Executive advisor) is always good for a surprise.'
Doohan's crash in Miami came after the 22-year-old hit out at Alpine after a pit lane blunder saw him eliminated in the opening qualifying session.
Doohan and Yuki Tsunoda were both blocked in their attempts to get back on the track for a final flying lap in the session.
They were unable to get out of pit lane before the session ended. Doohan was furious with his Alpine team's failure to get him back on the Miami street circuit — and gave them a piece of his mind over the team's radio.
Replays on Sky Sports showed a communication error put Doohan behind teammate Pierre Gasly in the pecking order in a move that ultimately resulted in members of the Alpine crew needing to physically push the car backwards to make the turn out of the garage.
The delay saw other cars move ahead of him in the queue and he was never given an opportunity to complete his final flying lap.
To say he was angry is an understatement.
'That's not acceptable,' he fumed over team radio. 'If you're going to send him [Gasly] before me, you have to make sure he's ready.
'I can't turn out and have to turn in because he's going to turn into me.
'Then you put me out in Q1. That's a joke.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News AU
an hour ago
- Sky News AU
Rock icons AC/DC announce national stadium tour for November and December as part of 2025 POWER UP world tour
AC/DC will return to Australian stages in 2025 for the first time in a decade, announcing a national stadium tour as part of their global POWER UP tour. The tour will include performances in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth, and Brisbane throughout November and December, with Melbourne-based punk outfit Amyl and the Sniffers confirmed as the national support act. The band is scheduled to open the Australian leg at Melbourne Cricket Ground on November 12, followed by shows at Accor Stadium in Sydney on November 21, the BP Adelaide Grand Final on November 30, Optus Stadium in Perth on December 4, and Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on December 14. Tickets will go on sale this Thursday, June 26, and high demand is anticipated. Fans are being urged to ensure their Ticketek accounts are updated and to access the site using a single browser and device to avoid technical issues. Ticket sale times vary by location, with the Ticketek lounge opening one hour prior to each city's release window. For instance, tickets in Melbourne will be available from 1pm AEST, while Sydney will open at 9am AEST and Brisbane at 11am AEST. In Perth, the sale will commence at 1pm AWST, and Adelaide tickets - available via Ticketmaster - will be released at 10am ACST. Ticket prices range from $132.45 (B-reserve) to $407.70 (premium A-reserve). In addition to the tour announcement, Melbourne City Council has indicated it will seek permission for the band to recreate their iconic 1976 'It's a Long Way to the Top' music video, originally filmed on Swanson Street. The Australian shows follow scheduled performances in the United States and Europe, where early tour legs have drawn strong crowd numbers and critical acclaim.
7NEWS
2 hours ago
- 7NEWS
Zac Lomax makes sad admission on wayward kicking in NSW's State of Origin II defeat to Queensland
Zac Lomax concedes his goalkicking 'wasn't ideal' in the second State of Origin game but has vowed not to board any emotional rollercoaster triggered by NSW's tight loss. NSW scored five tries to Queensland's four in Wednesday night's game but went down 26-24 as Lomax landed only two of five attempts at goal in wet and wild conditions. Nathan Cleary's groin injury left goalkicking duties to Lomax at the 11th hour and the right winger could have pushed the Blues to an unassailable 2-0 series lead off his boot. Instead, the result moves the series to a game three decider in Sydney on July 9, and denies NSW the chance for a first series clean sweep since 2000. Lomax said it was important not to become weighed down after the defeat. 'Week in week out, it's a rollercoaster of emotions. I guess like the first game, everyone was singing NSW's praises and game two, we lost. That's the way it goes,' he said. 'That's why you can't buy into it too much.' Parramatta winger Lomax said it could be easy to fall into thinking it was he alone who cost NSW the game. In reality, the Blues conceded eight unanswered penalties and completed at only 58 per cent as they fell 26-6 down at half-time. While critics may have pinned the loss on his kicking, Lomax said: 'It's easy to look at it that way because it (the margin) is two points and a goal is two points. For me, I pride myself on being a good goalkicker as well. 'It was not ideal. But as I said, it gives you guys (the media) something to talk about and the lead-in into game three. 'The thing is, I probably couldn't have struck them any better. They just sat out there. 'We were on the receiving end of it (defeat) but that's the way that footy goes. The best thing is we get another game, game three, and we'll be up for it.' Before then, Lomax is predicting a harsh reception playing before St George Illawarra's home crowd for the first time since his highly publicised exit from the club. Lomax surprised the NRL world last year by requesting a release from his Dragons deal amid career-best form that eventually yielded Australian and NSW debuts. After weeks of build-up the Dragons relented to Lomax's request and paved the way for him to sign at Parramatta, where he has continued to excel on the wing. A Dragon for 114 games, Lomax expects some rough treatment when he runs out at Wollongong in the Eels' blue-and-gold strip on Saturday evening. 'I'm sure I won't get a real nice reception there but that's the way that it goes,' he said after Parramatta's 36-20 defeat of Gold Coast. 'You completely try and take the emotion out of it because emotion can affect your game positively and negatively. 'For us it's learning what we did well tonight (against Gold Coast), learning things we can improve on.'
West Australian
3 hours ago
- West Australian
Alex Ducas: Geraldton product becomes ninth Australian to earn NBA championship ring as Oklahoma City triumph
Geraldton's Alex Ducas has become the ninth Australian-born player -and the second West Aussie - to win an NBA championship ring after Oklahoma City prevailed in the deciding game of the finals against Indiana. The Thunder proved too strong in Game 7 with a 103-91 triumph on Monday morning (WA time), sparking scenes of wild celebration on their home court. Among those on the podium was Ducas, who didn't take to the court in the playoffs but earns a ring after being a part of the squad in their historic season. Ducas featured in 21 games during the regular season, averaging 1.7 points and 1.2 rebounds per game in a role as a depth guard behind a stacked Thunder rotation led by league and finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The 24-year-old joins three-time Chicago Bulls champion Luc Longley as the only WA products to have achieved title success in the NBA. Seven other Aussie-born players also boast championship experience: Andrew Gaze (San Antonio, 1999), Patty Mills (San Antonio, 2014), Aron Baynes (San Antonio, 2014), Andrew Bogut (Golden State, 2015), Matthew Dellavedova (Cleveland, 2016), Kyrie Irving (Cleveland, 2016) and Jack White (Denver, 2023). Ducas attended Geraldton's Nagle Catholic College and played for his hometown Buccaneers before attending Basketball Australia's Centre of Excellence and subsequently heading to college at famous Aussie breeding ground St Mary's in California. He went undrafted last June but was snapped up by the Thunder after impressing for their Summer League affiliate, paving the way for his championship honour. The result meant fellow Aussie Johnny Furphy missed out on his own ring as Indiana fell short of an unlikely finals upset. Gilgeous-Alexander finished off his MVP season with 29 points and 12 assists to help the Thunder recover from a one-point deficit at half-time to romp to victory. Jalen Williams scored 20 and Chet Holmgren had 18 for OKC, who were pushed to a Game 7 brink in the NBA Finals — but finished off a season for the ages at home. Oklahoma City won 84 games between the regular season and the playoffs, tying the 1996-97 Chicago Bulls for third-most in any season. Only Golden State (88 in 2016-17) and the Bulls (87 in 2015-16) won more. The day was soured by a suspected Achilles injury to Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton in the opening quarter, cruelling the visitors' hopes of an upset win.
