Rising F1 star Jack Doohan, the son of legendary Aussie motorcycle racer Mick Doohan, has revealed he received graphic death threats last year which led to him being given armed security for his protection.
The drama unfolded while he was driving for Alpine and it reached its height ahead of last season’s Miami Grand Prix on May 5.
Doohan made the disturbing revelations on Netflix‘s F1 docu-series Drive to Survive, where he described how dangerous things felt for him ahead of his final race for Alpine before being replaced by Franco Colapinto.
‘I got serious death threats for this [Miami] Grand Prix, saying they’re going to kill me here if I’m not out of the car,’ Doohan said.
‘I had six or seven emails saying if I am still in the car by Miami, all my limbs will be cut off.’
Weeks after the Grand Prix, the 23-year-old made an emotional public plea for online trolls to stop targeting his family, following the wave of vicious abuse on social media.
Doohan was the victim of an aggressive online campaign, largely driven by social media users believed to be from Argentina, since Colapinto joined the team.
Doohan was dropped to a reserve role after the Miami Grand Prix, just six races into the 2025 season, and replaced by the Argentine star.
A Formula 1 parody account, ‘formulafakers’, created a fake Instagram post attributed to Doohan’s father, former MotoGP world champion Mick.
The fake image showed Colapinto’s wrecked Alpine car with the caption ‘Very impressive’ and laughing emojis, appearing to mock the Argentinian driver.
Several Argentinian media outlets mistakenly reported the post as real, sparking a flood of online attacks against the Doohan family.
The abuse Doohan started to receive was beyond normal trolling and became so severe that he needed a police escort and armed protection while at the Miami race with his girlfriend and trainer.
‘I was there with my f****g girlfriend and my trainer, and I’ve got three f****g armed men around me. I had to call my police escort to come and get it under control,’ he said.
Doohan lived under constant pressure in 2025 after deputising for Esteban Ocon at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2024.
The signing of Colapinto added even more pressure and things quickly unravelled.
He failed to score a single point across the opening six rounds, and crashed at his home Australian Grand Prix in dangerous conditions.
He also encountered issues at Japan’s Suzuka race after trying to take the first corner flat-out with DRS activated.
Alpine eventually replaced him with Colapinto ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, demoting Doohan to reserve duties before the team and driver agreed to part ways in January.
‘I wasn’t able to enjoy being a Formula 1 driver, something I dreamt of for so long. So yeah, it’s pretty s***,’ Doohan said.
Earlier this month, Doohan announced he had joined Haas as a reserve driver for the 2026 Formula 1 season.
He said Haas was the ‘ideal place’ to continue his career.
‘I would like to thank the team for giving me the opportunity to grow and take on the great challenge of 2026 together. I’m eager to begin working with the team and collaborating on a successful season,’ he said.
Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu said he was ‘very excited’ to have Doohan as part of his team given his vast experience.
‘The dedication required to remain sharp and prepared to race while getting to know how the team works and so on, it’s challenging for any driver – especially one who’s obviously still very keen to race again at this level,’ he said.