The cycle of Suzuki It is one of the most legendary in global motorsport. Lover of formula 1 They will remember him most of all for the fights between them Ayrton Senna And Alain Prost and those accidents at the Japanese Grand Prix in 1989 and 1990. For other drivers, it may also be the track that brings back the worst memories, and that must include us Jack Doohanthe Australian, the Franco Colapinto He replaced Alpine on the seventh day of the just-ended season with Lando Norris as the new champion.
The third F1 race of the year took place at the Japanese road circuit and after missing the first free practice session, the young man born on the Gold Coast 22 years ago suffered a very violent accident in the first corner, leaving the DRS open by attempting a maneuver he had tested in the simulator. However, it was believed that this accident was part of the pressure that Colapinto could feel behind closed doors and that eventually replaced him.
But not. Back in Suzuka, as he took part in the post-season tests of the Japanese Super Formula Championship – one of the most demanding in the world, in which the Argentine takes part. Sacha Fenestraz-, Doohan had such a bad time that he crashed on each of the three days of testing and in the same place: the Degner curve. On Wednesday he crashed into the back of his car; On Thursday he crashed head-on; And this Friday he had a new blow and caused the red flag for more than ten minutes.
What happened this time? During the morning session in Degner 1, the Australian stepped on the piano and was unable to keep the car on the asphalt, so once he was on the road he could no longer control it to avoid a head-on collision with the containment barrier. As on the previous two occasions, he managed to get out of the car without any problems.
Capitolo Doohan: The Australian pilot is the protagonist of Three Uscite All Curve Degner in three days, all and three volts in a quasi-identical manner, gets on the left road out of line and loses control of the vehicle. #SuperFormula #SFormula pic.twitter.com/6ABg8bjpWQ
— ブルース ケッタ (@bruceketta1655) December 12, 2025
It seemed like a repeat of what had happened the day before, but that wasn’t the case. Although track time was limited, Team Kondo fortunately managed to get their car back on the tarmac for the final 30 minutes of the final day of testing. There he set his best time (1:38:350 minutes), which placed him ninth among the 14 rookies who tested on Friday and 26th overall.
The best with a record of 1:36:682 minutes in the TOM’S Dallara-Toyota #1, normally driven by Sho Tsuboi, went to former McLaren Formula 1 junior Ugo Ugochukwu. The clear skies on Friday afternoon, combined with cold temperatures and strong tailwinds on the main straight, were ideal for setting fast times. The top three rookies placed in the top 10, including Luke Browning, the Williams Academy youngster who worked with Doohan at Kondo Racing.
3 months, 1 week, 1 week.
まさかのデグナー皆勤賞.
やってしまった.またインの縁石に弾かれた.
れはもうトラウマものですよ…#SFormula #SFgo pic.twitter.com/lLNF2BQwXR– 夕べ (@mugi_yakan) December 12, 2025
While the Australian driver did not attend the post-test press conference, the team’s factory manager, Nobuaki Atate, did. “Luke and Jack’s performance is extremely high. Jack has simply had a series of accidents, but he is a boy with considerable potential. I think Suzuka is difficult at this time of year and he has made adjustments, so I don’t think this will happen again next time,” he commented in the Japanese edition of Motorsport, clarifying that they managed to get him back on track after the third accident to prevent him from “leaving with a negative impression.”
Nobuaki Atate remains silent about the possible commitment of Doohan, who was confirmed for these tests on Tuesday and whose contract with Alpine is valid until 2026: “Due to contractual problems, I can’t say anything yet.” “Given our team’s results in the races, we started to understand a little bit where the car’s problems might lie. The comments from Luke and Jack have also highlighted certain aspects,” he added of the performance of the Williams and Alpine test drivers in Formula 1.
The Japanese Super Formula Championship post-season testing comprised six sessions and a total of 12 hours, spread over four and a half hours on Wednesday and Thursday and three hours on Friday. The category will also return to Suzuka for the preparatory tests on February 25th and 26th. The Argentinian Sacha Fenestraz, who took 18th place in the overall table in these tests, is also there. However, the future of Doohan, who has set a black background as his profile photo on Instagram, remains uncertain.
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