Update on Jack Doohan after ‘horrific’ 185mph practice crash

Jack Doohan is “shaken” but “unharmed” after suffering a high-speed crash during Friday practice at the F1 Japanese Grand Prix.

The Australian, who sat out of opening practice as Alpine opted to run reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa on home soil, lost control of his car and spun off into the barriers at Turn 1.

Doohan suffered extensive damage to his Alpine, including losing two wheels, and was seen gingerly walking away from the scene of the huge crash.

He was uninjured in the accident and did not suffer a concussion, having been cleared following a trip to the Suzuka medical centre.

The shunt was clocked at 185mph, according to Alpine, who are continuing to assess the cause of the accident.

“If you were watching free practice two you would have seen the quite horrific accident of Jack Doohan into Turn 1,” Sky Sports F1 pitlane reporter Ted Kravitz said.

“We haven’t seen a crash of this speed and with this kind of impact, certainly in the whole of 2025 and I can’t think when back to 2024.

“185mph. Just think about that. Think about if you’ve been on the motorway and been naughty and done 15mph over the speed limit at 85mph. Think about 100mph more than that! It’s shocking, really.

“It was an accident into the barriers at Turn 1, a spin then into the barriers at Turn 1 which really shocked the whole pitlane.

“The important thing is that Jack Doohan himself is okay. He spent a bit of time at the medical centre. They wanted to check his physical body and his head, whether he suffered any concussion.

“The team have confirmed to me that there was no concussion suffered by Jack Doohan after the checks at the medical centre, which is very good.

“They have confirmed the accident was at 300km/h. So that is 185mph. The other crucial thing the team are doing is checking the data to see whether anything was wrong on the car.

“Inconclusive at the moment, no conclusions, to see whether anything broke on the car that they need to know about for the rest of the weekend in the rebuilt car.

“But also for his teammate Pierre Gasly, and to better understand whether they have some kind of manufacturing or design issue with the car itself. So they are going through the data at the moment.

“He was at the beginning of his second hot lap when the actual accident happened.”

Alpine preparing share chassis

Alpine are still assessing the extent of the damage incurred but are preparing their spare chassis in the likely event it is needed for the remainder of the weekend.

“The car is back in the garage and they are busy taking it apart,” Kravitz continued.

"If the side impact structure, which was certainly affected, isn’t able to be repaired, then they may well need to build up the spare tub and chassis.

“The Alpine mechanics knew instantly that that was a definite possibility and that’s why they got the spare tub in the box and they got it ready to go if they need it.

“A really, really nasty crash - 185mph into Turn 1 at Suzuka - really nasty stuff. The most important thing is that Jack Doohan is okay. Shaken but unharmed otherwise from that.”