Aussie motor sport legend Mick Doohan tries to stick up for his son Jack after his F1 sacking - but it backfires badly

Aussie motorcycle legend Mick Doohan has leapt to the defence of his son Jack following his sacking from F1 team Alpine this week.

The five-time moto GP world champion posted an Instagram story where a graphic compared his boy's results to Frenchman Pierre Gasly.

Doohan was looking to emphasise how poorly the Alpine car has been this season - but the statistics actually showed Gasly has chalked up superior results.

'What was the point? Pierre Gasly’s results were better,' posted one F1 fan in response.

'Sadly, that graph doesn’t help Jack,' said another.

A third weighed in with: 'Don't get it, he (Doohan) is actually roasting his own son.'

In terms of race finishes, Gasly’s results are 11th, 11th, 13th, 7th, DNF and 13th - compared to Doohan’s results, which read: DNF, 13th, 15th, 14th, 17th and DNF.

After failing to score a single point in Formula One so far this season, Doohan, 22, was sacked by Alpine earlier this week.

Reserve driver Franco Colapinto is set to take his seat for the next five races.

'As part of an ongoing assessment of its driver line-up, the team has made the decision to rotate one of its race seats for the next five rounds of the 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship,' Alpine said in a statement.

'BWT Alpine Formula One Team therefore announces that Franco Colapinto will be paired with Pierre Gasly from the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, ahead of a new evaluation before the British Grand Prix in July.

'Jack Doohan remains an integral part of the team and will be the first-choice Reserve Driver for this period of time.'

Some fans felt the writing was on the wall for Doohan when Alpine drafted Colapinto in as their reserve at the beginning of the season.

The Queensland-born racing driver was previously questioned on the arrival of the 21-year-old Argentinian driver in January and issued a frosty response, claiming he was not feeling 'undermined' by Colapinto's presence.

On Wednesday, Doohan, who replaced Esteban Ocon at the start of the 2025 season, also released a statement admitting he was reeling from the decision, but was grateful to the team for their support and would work hard to get back onto the grid.

'I am very proud to have achieved my lifelong ambition to be a professional Formula One driver and I will forever be grateful to the (Alpine) team for helping me achieve this dream,' he said.

'Obviously, this latest chapter is a tough one for me to take because, as a professional driver, naturally I want to be racing.

'That said, I appreciate the team's trust and commitment. We have long-term goals as a team to achieve and I will continue to give my maximum efforts in any way I can to help achieve those.

'For now, I will keep my head down, keep working hard, watch with interest the next five races and keep chasing my own personal goals.'