Jack Doohan had a very difficult start to his Japanese Grand Prix weekend. He didn’t take part in the first practice session because Alpine gave his car to Japanese reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa, who did very well and even set a faster lap than Pierre Gasly. When Doohan finally got in the car for the second practice, he only managed to drive for a few minutes before crashing.

Doohan lost control of his Alpine as he entered Turn 1 and slid off at high speed, crashing into the barrier on the exit of the corner. The impact caused heavy damage to the car, but he was able to get out on his own and was helped to the safety car by a doctor and a marshal.

On the radio, Doohan sounded confused, asking the team what had happened. Alpine later confirmed that the crash was caused by a mistake.

“We are all relieved to see Jack walk away from his incident in Free Practice 2 and glad to see he is OK after his precautionary checks,” said team boss Oliver Oakes.

“It was a misjudgement of not closing the DRS into Turn 1. It is something to learn from and I know Jack and the team will be ready for tomorrow.”

A button on the steering wheel allows the driver to open the rear wing and gain extra speed, known as the DRS system. Normally, braking closes the DRS automatically but if the driver doesn’t brake, the system stays open unless it’s shut manually. That’s what caught Doohan out as at Suzuka, Turn 1 is very fast and drivers often don’t brake until later in the corner. With the DRS still open, the car lost rear grip and became unstable, leading to the crash.

Doohan also spoke after the crash, saying: “First of all, I am OK after the incident. It was a heavy one, something that caught me by surprise, and I will learn from it.

“I know the team has a lot of work ahead to repair the car going into tomorrow, so thanks in advance to them for their efforts.”