F1 driver told he could be axed before Bahrain Grand Prix as warning sent

An F1 driver who is making "a lot of mistakes" could be dropped ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend, according to Ralf Schumacher, who claims he is "overwhelmed" by the current situation.

Formula One returns to Bahrain for the fourth race of the season this weekend as Lando Norris, Max Verstappen, Oscar Piastri and George Russell continue their battle at the top of the standings.

Jack Doohan and Pierre Gasly, meanwhile, will be hoping to secure their first points following a disappointing start to the campaign with Alpine.

Gasly's best result so far in 2025 is an 11th-place finish at the Australian Grand Prix, while the under-fire Doohan has yet to finish higher than 13th, which has sparked rumours over his future at the Enstone-based team.

In fact, after Doohan's poor start – which has featured a crash on the opening lap in Melbourne and a four point penalty in China – former F1 driver-turned-pundit Ralf Schumacher believes he could be dropped ahead of the Bahrain GP.

“He’s spurred on by his own team, but also by his driving,” Schumacher told Sky Deutschland. “He makes a lot of mistakes and is not fast enough."

“One more thing happened this week. Ryo Hirakawa, who got into the car in the first practice session, was directly on par with Pierre Gasly. He gets in and makes this fatal mistake. This will be analysed from the team’s point of view," Schumacher continued.

“At the moment, he is overwhelmed by the situation. The team will sit down with him and I am curious to see what happens. He’s not sure he’ll be at the next race.”

Doohan made another error in Japan last weekend, when he crashed after entering Turn One with the DRS open in FP2.

Who would replace Doohan?

Ryo Hirakawa is off the cards after he was announced as the official reserve driver for Haas for the remainder of the 2025 season.

Interestingly, Franco Colapinto and Paul Aron took part in a private Alpine test at Monza over the weekend.

On Sunday, footage emerged of Colapinto driving a 2023 Alpine car, while fellow Alpine reserve driver Paul Aron also took part. Colapinto's fastest lap was said to be a tenth quicker than the Estonian.

Alpine team principal Oliver Oakes recently acknowledged that there was "unrest" over the Australian's position – though did add that the team are "happy" with him at the moment.

He said: "We know there's a bit of unrest around Jack's position, but he's working well. So far, it's been ok. He's staying calm and focusing on himself. There are a lot of rumours about Franco, but at the moment we're happy.

"You always have to decide what's best for the team. Every driver in Formula 1 has to perform. They know that."

Doohan is under serious pressure after a poor start to the 2025 campaign. Image credit: Getty

Speaking ahead of the race in Bahrain this weekend, Doohan said: “I can’t wait for it and we’ve just got to keep working together as a team, keep pushing and get these points. That’s what’s important.”