Jack Doohan appeals for end to family harassment after fake post

Alpine reserve driver Jack Doohan is seen ahead of qualification at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix. PHOTO: REUTERS

UPDATED May 21, 2025, 11:14 AM

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SYDNEY – Australian driver Jack Doohan has appealed for an end to the harassment of his family after a fake social media post purported to be from his father was shared widely online.

Doohan, whose father Mick won five motorcycling world titles, is a reserve driver at the Alpine team after being replaced by Franco Colapinto six races into his debut Formula One season earlier in May.

The fake post made fun of Colapinto's crash in qualifying for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix last weekend, his first outing since replacing Doohan. The Argentinian finished 16th in the main race following his big crash.

“As you can clearly see, the story circulating above is completely false,” Doohan posted on social media, where he has nearly 500,000 followers on Instagram.

“They edited the original content to make it appear as though my father posted it, which is entirely untrue. Please stop harassing my family. I didn’t think it would have to get to this point.”

The post in question showed a picture of Colapinto after his crash and Doohan senior supposedly commenting: “Very impressive.”

Doohan initially blamed Argentinian fans for the fake post, but later clarified this assertion after those responsible for mocking up the image apologised and took it down.

“The source is not Argentine. However multiple Argentine outlets falsely reported the fabricated image which triggered the online abuse on my family,” he said.

A separate Alpine statement also called for an end to the abuse.

“We encourage everyone to remember that behind the visor of these superhuman athletes there is a person, an individual with feelings, family, friends and loved ones,” the team wrote.

“As a team we cannot condone online abuse and urge all fans of this sport we love to be kind and respectful.”

Colapinto last weekend also urged his fans to show respect to other drivers after he accidentally blocked Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda in the first Friday practice at Imola.

The Japanese driver received a series of insulting comments online, many of them in Spanish, and suggested Formula One organisers might need to step in to curtail the abuse.

The next race is in Monaco this weekend.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won in Imola but the Dutchman is third in the drivers’ standings behind the McLaren duo of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. REUTERS, AFP

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