Japanese Grand Prix session red-flagged as under-fire driver suffers heavy crash | F1 | Sport
Jack Doohan suffered a heavy crash at the first corner of the Suzuka Circuit during FP2 on Friday, bringing out the red flag. The Australian racer is under significant pressure heading into the Japanese Grand Prix. Alpine’s rookie racer was approaching Turn One at full speed, but when he turned in, the car lurched into a spin, sending him careening into the barriers at high speed.
The heavy contact ripped two wheels off his A525 machine. Doohan’s shunt was an unusual one. Sky Sports F1 commentator David Croft was quick to rule out “driver error”, while pundit and professional racing driver Anthony Davidson offered a number of alternative theories.
Ted Kravitz was equally unsure about the cause of the crash but suggested that wind gusts or an unfortunate “bottoming-out” at the wrong time was at fault. Davidson agreed with the pit reporter’s theories.
The crash was a disaster for Doohan, who is now on the back foot heading into qualifying day at the Japanese GP. The 22-year-old handed his car to reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa for FP1, meaning he will have just one session under his belt come Q1 on Saturday.
Doohan is under pressure on another front, too. The 22-year-old went into the campaign battling rumours that he could be replaced after just six races by Franco Colapinto, and his results in Melbourne and Shanghai have done little to inspire confidence from the Alpine leadership.
The Australian racer crashed on the opening lap at the season-opening home race in Albert Park, and in China, he picked up four penalty points for incidents with fellow rookies Gabriel Bortoleto and Isack Hadjar.
Doohan will, therefore, be desperate to avenge his practice crash in Suzuka, although his shortage of laps will do little to bolster his confidence heading into one of the trickiest qualifying sessions of the season.
The rookie wasn’t the only driver caught out on Friday, though. Veteran Aston Martin racer Fernando Alonso made a mistake at Turn Nine and suffered a spin that beached him in the gravel, bringing out a second red flag of the session.
