Formula 1 Japanese GP
DRS "misjudgement" from Doohan caused F1 Japanese GP practice crash
Alpine has explained that Jack Doohan's big shunt in Formula 1 practice was caused by him failing to close DRS, with the team's crew now working to rebuild his heavily damaged car
Filip Cleeren
Edited: Apr 4, 2025, 1:06 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Alpine driver Jack Doohan has said he was "caught by surprise" by his heavy crash in Formula 1's Japanese Grand Prix second practice, with team boss Oliver Oakes labelling it a "misjudgement".
The rookie spun off entering the high-speed Turn 1 in the opening stages of the one-hour session, smashing heavily into the barriers. Due to the severity of the impact, Doohan was checked at the medical centre, but the Australian escaped injury.
Doohan's crash was caused by him entering Turn 1 without manually closing his DRS mechanism, which meant he turned into the flat-out section with his rear wing still open. That aerodynamical imbalance caused his Alpine to spin as soon as he turned into the corner.
The DRS overtaking device is deactivated automatically as soon as a driver hits the brakes, which wasn't the case in that particular corner.
"We are all relieved to see Jack walk away from his incident in free practice two and glad to see he is OK after his precautionary checks," Oakes said.
"It was a misjudgement of not closing the DRS into Turn 1. It is something to learn from and I know Jack and the team will be ready for tomorrow. His crew will work hard to have the car prepared after the damage."
Jack Doohan, Alpine
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images
Doohan said the incident caught him off guard. "It was a heavy one, something that caught me by surprise, and I will learn from it," he stated.
"I know the team has a lot of work ahead to repair the car going into tomorrow, so thanks in advance to them for their efforts. My focus is on tomorrow where we will have free practice three to get ready for qualifying."
Doohan had ceded his spot in FP1 to Alpine test driver Ryo Hirakawa, meaning the 22-year-old heads into Saturday with just four laps of Suzuka under his belt.
In the other car, Pierre Gasly tentatively appeared to confirm Alpine's place in the pecking order in the middle of the pack, fighting with the likes of Williams and Aston Martin.
"From a performance point of view today, there are some things for us to work on," Oakes explained.
"Pierre had a good run in free practice two, which bodes well for tomorrow, as did Ryo, who did a great job to run through the programme this morning. We tried some set-up options between cars and we have a good direction to go in ahead of qualifying."
Photos from Japanese GP - Practice
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
2025 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday
Formula 1
81
Read Also:
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article FIA taking action after smoking grass halts FP2 at F1's Japanese GP
Next article Alonso shocked by "weird" spin in FP2 for the Japanese GP
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Filip Cleeren
"It's horribly painful" - Williams drops 2026 car upgrades to benefit 2027
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
16 h
"It's horribly painful" - Williams drops 2026 car upgrades to benefit 2027
More from
Jack Doohan
Jack Doohan opens up on Michael Schumacher bond and gift that influenced his career
Formula 1
Formula 1
Italian GP
2 mo
Jack Doohan opens up on Michael Schumacher bond and gift that influenced his career
Jack Doohan on his first Le Mans, driving LMP2 cars, and life away from F1
WEC
WEC
24 Hours of Le Mans
5 mo
Jack Doohan on his first Le Mans, driving LMP2 cars, and life away from F1
Jack Doohan reveals shocking death threats during Alpine F1 stint in "Drive to Survive"
Formula 1
Formula 1
Bahrain Pre-Season 2
8 mo
Jack Doohan reveals shocking death threats during Alpine F1 stint in "Drive to Survive"
More from
Alpine
"Colapinto never hit the apex" – Audi's take on contentious Nico Hulkenberg penalty in Brazilian GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
2 d
"Colapinto never hit the apex" – Audi's take on contentious Nico Hulkenberg penalty in Brazilian GP
A fond farewell to a few WEC favourites
WEC
Monza
A fond farewell to a few WEC favourites
Pierre Gasly on Franco Colapinto fan pressure: “Once you deal with Helmut Marko, anything else is no pressure”
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
5 d
Pierre Gasly on Franco Colapinto fan pressure: “Once you deal with Helmut Marko, anything else is no pressure”
Latest news
Carson Hocevar and Cleetus McFarland win LeMullets 2026 in epic finish
General
Misc General 30 min
Carson Hocevar and Cleetus McFarland win LeMullets 2026 in epic finish
TV ratings released for NASCAR Cup season finale
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
6 h
TV ratings released for NASCAR Cup season finale
Chase Elliott's car chief leaves Hendrick for NASCAR Truck crew chief role
NASCAR Truck
NSTR NASCAR Truck
Homestead
7 h
Chase Elliott's car chief leaves Hendrick for NASCAR Truck crew chief role
Feature
Discover prime content
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Formula 1
By Kevin Turner
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe