Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber, 2025

“Cutthroat”: Hulkenberg, Bearman and Lawson give same view on Doohan’s exit

Formula 1

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Three of Jack Doohan’s former rivals have spoken up in support of him after Alpine dropped him from their line-up six rounds into his debut season.

Franco Colapinto will make his first start for Alpine this weekend as Doohan’s replacement. Nico Hulkenberg, who drove for the team from 2017 to 2019 when it was known as Renault, said it was clear once Alpine hired Colapinto as a reserve driver that Doohan was at risk of losing his seat.

“It’s obviously tough,” he told the official Formula 1 channel. “I think even when Jack started there, over the winter it was always, obviously, with Franco around, it was a tough environment to start in as a rookie.”

Hulkenberg lost his first F1 seat after one season at Williams, then returned at Force India after a year as a test driver. He spent another four seasons out – aside from a handful of substitute appearances – after losing his Renault seat.

“I feel sorry for him in a way,” Hulkenberg continued, “he didn’t obviously have much time to prove and to grow. I know how difficult it is as a rookie to come in. Being in such a tight mid-pack, it’s hard to really convince [people].

“So that’s typical Formula 1, very cutthroat, very unforgiving in these days. I think especially in that team at that moment.”

Oliver Bearman, who also started his first full season in F1 this year, echoed Hulkenberg’s words. I think it shows that we live in a cutthroat sport,” he said.

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“Even if I don’t really fully agree with what’s happened in that team, I think it’s a little harsh and a little early to make judgments on someone after only six races.

“I think Jack did a great job and I agree that it’s very harsh what happened to him. But it’s also a reminder for all of us that we need to be performing at all times.”

Liam Lawson, whom Red Bull relegated to their junior F1 team just two rounds into the new season, also descirbed Alpine’s handling of Doohan as “cutthroat.”

“I spoke to Jack, obviously for him it’s very tough,” said Lawson “I think he showed enough to stay in Formula 1, for sure.

“But also, it’s hard — how can you be expected in five races to show everything you have, especially in your rookie season? Unfortunately, it’s very cutthroat.”

This article will be updated

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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4 comments on ““Cutthroat”: Hulkenberg, Bearman and Lawson give same view on Doohan’s exit”

  1. Their views are spot-on, but one thing I’ve noticed is that these days more or less all drivers get asked about matters regarding one particular driver that doesn’t directly concern anyone else, especially anyone not in the same team anyway.

    1. That’s true, but I don’t think it’s a bad thing, it’s good to hear the opinion about drivers in the same sport when a driver is replaced.

  2. I dunno, the two races for Lawson were too little, obviously. Although his performance was rather abysmal and not good enough for the team he was in. Getting “demoted” to a smaller team was the right move and he gets the opportunity to work himself back up, much like Gasly and Albon got to do.

    However, I feel six races is enough for a team to evaluate a driver. Doohan didn’t have a single good performance, definitely nothing that stood out or showed promise of greatness. I feel like six races for Max and Carlos at Toro Rosso in 2015 was more than enough to rate them. Six races at Sauber was enough to see Charles’ potential, etc. F1 should be “cutthroat” for a good reason, it’s supposed to be elite and we should waste 24 races or more on mediocrity. It’s never going to lead to excitement. Did two seasons of Guanyou Zhou give us anything worth mentioning (Silverstone crash aside, for obvious reasons), for example?

  3. To ensure fairness, drivers should only be replaced during the summer or winter break. This could be an opportunity to introduce a rule that protects drivers’ stability throughout the season.

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