The most shocking moment of the 2025 season has to be Jack Doohan’s crash during Free Practice 2 at the Japanese Grand Prix Jack Doohan literally lost control at turn 1 and crashed into the wall.
From the look of things, the car was totally damaged beyond repair and looked like it was cut in half.
Commentators during the race also pointed out that on Doohan’s lap, the car appeared to “bottom out” and it was clearly not a mistake by the driver.
After the race, it was clear that Alpine’s team boss, Oliver Oakes thinks it’s rather unfortunate that he didn’t shut DRS off before going into a corner.
“I think we are all very relieved with the fact that Jack is safe after his Free Practice 2 incident. After undergoing precautionary checks. This is something we never look forward to seeing,” Oakes told reporters.
“It could only be described as a misjudgment of not closing the DRS into Turn 1 which is certainly a lesson learned.”
Now at least a couple of weeks pending the next race, a lot is left that has to be explained in greater detail. Additional reports also suggest that Jack is claiming this version of the story where he assumes he could undertook the corner without disabling DRS, and could have remained active on track. There are three ways to deactivate DRS: using the brake, lifting the foot of the accelerator, or pushing a steering wheel button.
One possible explanation can be that DRS was not functioning and responding like it was supposed to because he braked, as telemetry shows the DRS did not respond. It very clearly did not respond.
This hinges on the idea that a malfunctioning sensor failed to close the DRS when Doohan activated the brakes.
The alternative theory is that Doohan may have made some kind of ‘call it a misjudgment’. With a notion that one would release the accelerator, in this case you just need to lightly tap the brakes, DRS would change from active to standby.
Other drivers’ data suggests Leclerc’s Ferrari DRS is programmed to close on application of the brake while Gasly’s Alpine only disengages when the throttle is lifted.
Doohan after the crash accepted his side and blamed himself for the crash.
“Simply put, I am doing alright following the incident. It was an impactful one, one that took me bodily and mentally by surprise, and I will take lessons from it,” he said.
Although the reason for the crash is still unknown, Alpine undoubtedly has an expensive repair bill alongside additional workload for FP3 and qualifying. The optics of the incident likely increase the burden on Doohan, especially considering the fact that he has Franco Colapinto fueling the competition.”
