Jack Doohan has shared what his father, Mick, said to him after he slammed his Alpine into the wall on the first lap of his home grand prix.
The Australian lost control of his car after only a handful of corners in the torrid conditions at Albert Park, leaving him a passenger and powerless to prevent the shunt.
Coming out of Turn 5, the 22-year-old put his foot down, but a white line on the asphalt caused him to lose traction as his Alpine careered into the barrier in response.
He was not the only rookie to fall foul of the tricky white lines. Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar crashed on the second corner of the formation lap and Liam Lawson retired late on after an incident at the same part of the circuit.
With his father being a five-time motorbike champion, in the class that has since become MotoGP, Doohan is surrounded by a strong motorsport structure, something that is particularly useful given the seemingly omnipresent danger to his F1 seat.
One of Team Enstone’s four reserve drivers, Franco Colapinto, is knocking on the door of a full-time drive and Doohan is under considerable pressure to perform, something his crash in Melbourne will do little to alleviate.
He had turned in a strong weekend up to his lap one mistake, showing solid pace that could have seen him through to the final stage of qualifying, had it not been for Lewis Hamilton’s spin and the subsequent yellow flags.
After getting out his car following his short-lived grand prix, Doohan cut a defiant figure, focusing on the positives of his weekend instead of its bitter end.
When asked by RacingNews365 whether he had taken the opportunity to speak with his father after his first F1 retirement, the Alpine driver explained they had not yet had to chance to have a full conversation.
“No. No, he hasn’t,” Doohan replied. “He came up behind me, I think he said: ‘there was a white line, a bugger.'”
He reflected on the adversity his father faced during his illustrious career, underscoring how valuable that experience is to him.
“But for sure, he had many times where he was scraping along the ground at much higher speeds than me as well,” he added.
“So, at the end of the day, I’m just going to have to learn to accept this and I’ve got no better person in my corner [than his father] that has been through that and been through tough times and bounced back.”