Jack Doohan has appeared to publish a heartbreaking farewell message to his Alpine colleagues on Instagram, signalling that his time with the Formula One outfit may be over.
The 22-year-old Australian has been Alpine’s reserve driver since 2023 before he stepped up to make his Formula One debut at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2024.
It was announced that year that Doohan would replace Esteban Ocon as Alpine’s second driver for the 2025 season.
But life in the premier motor racing circuit didn’t get off to a great start for Doohan. After a series of poor results, the Aussie was dropped after just six races, with Alpine promoting Franco Colapinto to take his seat.
The Aussie star was hampered by on-track penalties at the start of the season and suffered a huge crash in qualifying at the Japanese Grand Prix.
Things went from bad to worse for Doohan after Colapinto, who joined as a reserve driver in January, put pen to paper on a new deal to become the side’s second driver in November.
Jack Doohan’s (pictured) time with Alpine appears to be over after the Aussie Formula One driver appeared to publish a heartbreaking farewell message to his Alpine colleagues
Now, the Australian has hinted that his time with the Oxfordshire-based racing team is coming to a conclusion, publishing a series of heartbreaking images of himself hugging members of the team, as well as a series of snaps reminiscing on his time with the side.
Doohan also published an image of himself posing with what appears to be his signed Alpine contract, after the Aussie was promoted to partner Pierre Gasly on the grid at the start of the 2025 season.
Alpine is yet to issue a statement on what the future holds for the young driver, who has received an outpouring of support from his fans and Alpine colleagues since publishing the slideshow on Instagram.
Alpine race engineer Cristoforo Pirro wrote: ‘Thank broski! It was a pleasure to work with you. See you on track.’
Track coordinator Zac Knowles added: ‘Big love Jack!’
While Alpine mechanic Ryan Dixon said: ‘Jackie boy, it’s been a pleasure watching you grow into the man you’ve become. Honoured to have been part of your journey. We all know this is only the beginning! See you back in the pitlane soon. Big love.’
Australian Olympic surfer Jack Robinson was another who commented on the post, sending Doohan a love-heart emoji. While Formula One photographer Gregoire Truchet also added: ‘All the best mate.’
Other fans wrote: ‘You deserved so much more from 2025 Jack. You gave them 100% everytime, and you can hold your head up high. You took the high ground, and that will always count for a lot in all but a few people’s books. Don’t give up, keep pushing, and we’ll see you racing again soon.’
Doohan was seen hugging several Alpine team-members, while also posing for a picture of himself with what appeared to be his contract with the team
Doohan (pictured right with his dad Mark) could return to work as a reserve driver for Haas in 2026
Another wrote: ‘Dude, you deserved better. I wish this sport was never about money. Talented people like you are often overlooked because of money.’
It seems that Doohan may have an option to continue working in Formula One as a reserve driver for another team.
According to Planet F1, the Australian is hoping to join up with the Toyota Super Formula side for the 2026 season and could also sign a deal to take up a position as a reserve driver for Haas.
It comes after Doohan insisted that he would do everything to keep chasing his dream of being a Formula One driver, after being dropped for Colapinto earlier this year.
‘I am very proud to have achieved my lifelong ambition to be a professional Formula One driver and I will forever be grateful to the team for helping me achieve this dream,’ he said.
‘Obviously, this latest chapter is a tough one for me to take because, as a professional driver, naturally, I want to be racing.
‘That said, I appreciate the team’s trust and commitment. We have long-term goals as a team to achieve and I will continue to give my maximum efforts in any way I can to help achieve those. For now, I will keep my head down, keep working hard, watch with interest the next five races and keep chasing my own personal goals.’
