Jack Doohan crashes in FP2 at Japanese GP, causes red flag at Suzuka

Jack Doohan's Japanese Grand Prix weekend was spoiled on Free Practice 2 with a high-speed crash early on in the session. Replacing Alpine reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa, who had set the pace on home soil during FP1, Jack had a heavy impact into Turn 1, and the session was red-flagged and delayed by 20 minutes.

On only his fourth lap, Jack Doohan lost control of his Alpine as he entered Turn 1's high-speed straight, front and rear wings clipped and two wheels ripped off. Although at first glance it seemed as though the car had simply bottomed out, replays showed that his DRS flap was still open—a rare error since drivers must close the DRS manually before entering Turn 1 since the brake is not active.

Even with the nasty crash, the 22-year-old walked out of the wreckage on his own and was pronounced "okay" following a standard check-up at the circuit's medical centre. Alpine cleared him fit after the session.

The session was slow on action, with just 20 out of the planned 60 minutes completed due to a series of interruptions. Following the crash of Doohan and the repair of the barriers, Fernando Alonso caused another red flag by spinning into the gravel at Turn 8. Grass on the track edge later caught fire due to sparks, causing a further halt.

Despite the chaos, McLaren's Oscar Piastri topped the times, narrowly ahead of teammate Lando Norris, as the squad continued their early-season dominance.