Jack Doohan says he got death threats and called police before Alpine exit
Australian driver jack doohan has described receiving “serious death threats” by email and calling a police escort after seeing armed men around the time of last year’s Miami Grand Prix, the weekend that preceded his exit from Alpine. The revelations appear in the latest series of the documentary Drive to Survive, released on Friday.
Jack Doohan and police escort
Doohan said he saw three armed men during the Miami weekend and that he “had to call my police escort to come get it under control. ” He did not specify how that incident was resolved and did not identify anyone responsible for the confrontation.
Threats and armed men
In the documentary Doohan described receiving explicit email threats. “I got serious death threats for this grand prix, saying they’re going to kill me here if I’m not out of the car, ” he said. He added: “I had six or seven emails saying if I’m still in the car by Miami, that I’ll be, you know, all my limbs will be cut off. ”
Miami weekend and race contact
Doohan made his debut for Alpine in the last race of 2024. The Miami event was the sixth race of 2025 and proved to be his final appearance for Alpine. He retired from that race following contact with Liam Lawson at the first corner; three days later Alpine announced Franco Colapinto would replace him with immediate effect.
Team decisions and replacement
Prior to the Miami weekend, a comment by one of Colapinto’s sponsors fuelled speculation that Doohan would be dropped when a hot mic caught the sponsor claiming his driver would be in the car for the following race in Imola. During the weekend Oliver Oakes, Alpine’s team principal at the time, denied it would be Doohan’s final start for the team. Doohan was dropped and replaced by Franco Colapinto after Miami, in May.
Social media and abuse
After Colapinto replaced him in May, Doohan posted on social media that he and his family had been facing online abuse and indicated at the time that fans from Colapinto’s home country of Argentina were responsible. The documentary captures the strain around the Miami weekend, including a terse exchange between Doohan and his PR officer: “I’m saying whatever I want, I don’t give a shit any more, ” he said. After being told to calm down, Doohan replied: “I’m already closed-lipped 99% of the time, anything they’ll hear anyway is only a third of what I’m allowed to say. It’s a joke. ”
Chronology, career moves and context
Doohan made his Alpine debut in the last race of 2024, endured the Miami weekend in 2025 with the threats and the armed encounter, retired from that Miami race after contact with Liam Lawson at the first corner, and was replaced by Franco Colapinto three days later. He left Alpine in January and joined Haas as its reserve driver for the new season; he is now a reserve driver for Haas. The documentary accounts were reiterated in a piece dated 26th February 2026, 10: 00 written by Keith Collantine.
Other sports notes and rulings
Separate items in the same coverage thread noted that Morocco sentenced 18 Senegalese football fans last Thursday following disturbances at the Africa Cup of Nations final. Another item said Almeria, relegated from La Liga in 2023-24, had been under the control of Saudi owners for more than six years. Coverage also referenced an earlier match already overshadowed by alleged racial abuse aimed at Vinicius Jr by Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni in the first leg. With the playoffs settled, the pieces said some of the biggest names in European football will soon discover their last 16 opponents.
The pair of Doohan and Colapinto were the only two drivers in F1 last season not to score a point, while Alpine finished last in the constructors’ standings.
Doohan described the atmosphere around his final race as “pretty heavy stuff. ” He declined to name who was responsible for the threats and did not detail how the armed-men incident was ultimately handled.
