Piastri has thrown his support behind fellow Aussie Jack Doohan after continued reports of his drive being under pressure.
Oscar Piastri has backed Jack Doohan – the second Australian on this year’s F1 grid – as deserving of his place in the sport after ongoing reports his position is already under threat.
Speaking at a Thursday press conference at the 2025 Australian F1 Grand Prix Piastri said Doohan’s tough path to get into the sport was not dissimilar to his own and that his seat at Alpine was hard won.
“It’s always nice to have a fellow Aussie on the grid and I think Jack very much deserves it,” Piastri said.
“He had a lot of success in his junior career [and]I know the challenges he’s probably had in the last year sitting on the sidelines.
Photo by Kym Illman/Getty Images
By winning the Formula 2 (F2) title in 2021, Piastri had to sit out 2022 – having not found a drive in Formula One (F1) – before he joined McLaren from 2023 – recently extending his contract with the team.
Doohan took a gamble in 2024, sitting out the F2 season in the hopes of being promoted to a full-time F1 seat with Alpine, who he was reserve driver for.
That gamble paid off, but a reorganisation at Alpine has seen the team sign four reserve drivers including Argentinian Franco Colapinto, who – despite some serious crashes – impressed as a stand-in driver late in the 2024 season at Williams.
Williams – nor any other F1 team – had no seat available for Colapinto, leading to pressure on Doohan, who made his debut at the final round in Abu Dhabi last year with this weekend only his second Grand Prix.
“Jack totally deserves to be here,” said Liam Lawson, who raced alongside Doohan in both F2 and F3 and will race as world champion Max Verstappen's team-mate at Red Bull in 2025.
“He’s obviously been successful in the junior ranks, but he’s very similar to me in that you don’t have to win F2 or win one of those championships to prove yourself.
“He’s somebody that, especially in F1, the testing that he’s done, from what I understand, he’s been very, very strong.
“I think he deserves to be here. I hope he doesn’t feel that pressure too much and just tries to enjoy it.”
Above: F1 driver Oscar Piastri. Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images
Doohan said he’s focused on the job at hand rather than unfounded suggestions he’s on borrowed time.
“To be honest … I haven’t been thinking about any of that because as you all know, there’s no point thinking about rumours or commenting on them, but I have a contract for at least this year,” Doohan said.
“So I look forward to many homegrown Grands Prix, and the uncertainties – you don’t bother worrying about them. I think I have to perform in the car every time regardless.
“If you have one guy chasing my seat – we actually have four reserves – so all four of them, not just Franco, probably want my seat and [Alpine team-mate] Pierre’s [Gasly] as well.
“I wanted the seats while I was a reserve driver over the last two years – so I’m going to treat every race as if it’s my last because I want to enjoy every moment.”
With Doohan one of a number of young drivers starting their first full-time season, Lewis Hamilton – making his Ferrari race debut in Melbourne in his 19th season of F1 – similarly commented on young drivers being given a chance of success.
“I want to protect them from all the incoming bombardment that they will experience, because it can be a cruel world and they just need time,” Hamilton said.
“The pressure – it takes a long time to create diamonds … obviously some drivers come in and then get booted out straight away [but] I hope they’re just given leeway and time to make mistakes.”
