Japanese Grand Prix session stopped after F1 star destroys car in huge crash

Second practice at the was red flagged after a huge crash. Jack Doohan destroyed his when he lost control at high speed during a hot lap and hit the barrier hard, prompting race control to call a halt to proceedings.

Doohan did not drive in first practice and so was coming into the second session of Friday without having become acclimatised to the track. And he paid the price for that when he lost control, TV replays suggesting he had touched the painted white line with his wheels which would have reduced the amount of grip he had.

The car span and his Alpine smashed into the barrier with a huge impact. Fortunately, Doohan emerged from the cockpit and was helped to safety by marshals, seemingly without having suffered any lasting damage.

He looked rather wobbly on his feet as he was escorted to safety, though. The fans in the grandstands showed their support to the rookie as they gave him a warm round of applause as he made his way off the circuit.

READ MORE:

READ MORE:

The significant impact and the amount of debris strewn at the side of the track meant race control swiftly stopped the session. That allowed for the extensive clean-up operation to begin once the destroyed Alpine was removed from the gravel.

Less than nine minutes of practice had passed at the time of the incident. And by the time the track was ready for the session to resume, there was just half-and-hour left for drivers to run through their practice programmes - many of them had yet to set a representative time at that point.

The incident will do Doohan no favours in his bid to ensure his career lasts for more than just a few races. Speculation has been rife for many weeks now that he could be replaced by Alpine after just a handful of races.

The team signed Franco Colapinto over the winter who not only impressed in a brief spell driving for last year, but who also brings with him significant commercial benefits as F1's first Argentinian driver since Gaston Mazzacane in 2001, and because of his huge popularity across South America in general.

Renault adviser has made it clear to Doohan that he needs to perform swiftly. But both he and the Alpine team as a whole have yet to score a point in 2025 and sit at the bottom of the championship standings as a result - a situation which is not going to buy Doohan any more time.

Sources suggest a driver swap could be made before the European portion of this season even begins. That will be the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola on May 18, by which point Colapinto looks increasingly likely to be back on the F1 grid unless Doohan can find a sudden upturn in form.