2025 F1 Melbourne: What These Two Australian Drivers Don’t Have In Common
Since its start in 1950, there have been 19 Australian Drivers, and two of them are behind the wheel for Sunday’s inaugural Grand Prix. Jack Doohan, a rookie from Golden Coast Queensland, and Oscar Piastri, a Melbourne native in his third season. Both drivers have proven themselves worthy to start the F1 season, but their hopes for finishing could not be more different. Oscar Piastri enjoys a comfortable return with a new contract, while Jack Doohan is already on the chopping block, if the F1 rumor mill is anything to believe. While the two racers share a homeland, the similarities stop there.
Oscar Piastri has quickly become a fan favorite during his short time in F1. His wins at Hungary and Azerbaijan last year may have come later in the season, but were instrumental in helping McLaren win their first Constructors Championship in 26 years. Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren stated, “He was fundamental in adding to our legacy, so we’re all excited to see what we can do in the years to come as we continue to fight for the World Championship together”. If you think that sounds like job security, you’d be right. Piastri’s contract was recently extended until 2028, with a cozy pay bump from six million dollars a year to 20 million. Come Sunday, we’ll see if an added season of racing has done him any good.
Jack Doohan, on the other hand, is one of the nine rookies joining the F1 lineup this season. Doohan, with no races, points or wins behind him, has a lot to prove this season in a short amount of time. Yet, with no wins, he also brings no losses. So why the concerning hype? Concern is coming from Doohan’s testing performance in Bahrain where there was a “big difference” in lap times, three tenths of a second, between Doohan and teammate Pierre Gasly according to former engineer Julien Simon-Chautemps. Flavio Biatore, Alpine’s Executive Director has also weighed in stating, “We’ll start the year with Pierre and Jack, I can guarantee that. After that, we’ll see as the season progresses”. Suspicion is further speculated in Alpine’s quick signage of Franco Colapinto just seven days after signing Doohan. Colapinto will be driving as a reserve for Alpine, though, perhaps we should interpret reserve as replacement. Doohan, fairly or not, is on thin ice before he’s even hit the track. Melbourne has come and gone and the prophetic results seem to be manifesting. Oscar Piastri, performing well in practices and qualifying, dropped slightly in the race, but finished just inside the top ten. Doohan was one of the two rookie drivers out early in the race. We saw him flirt with gravel traps in practice, and he sealed the deal in the race, meeting the barriers in Turn 6.
F1 racing takes no prisoners. The winners rise and the losers are mercilessly cut. The influx of rookies this season show F1’s willingness to experience and take chances. It also shows its willingness to cut fat with a chainsaw and bring in the next hungry racer in line. Oscar Piastri has lots of reasons to be excited about the coming years in racing. Yet, his confidence rests entirely on his ability to perform. If that ability drops, so too can his high hopes. While success rests on a razor’s edge for Doohan, all he needs are a few quick seconds to place him in ahead of the eight other rookies also looking to prove the exact same thing. Perhaps he can pull ahead with a home field advantage.
