BEN MCCLELLAN: Jack Doohan’s F1 exit follows in footsteps of Red Bull dumping Daniel Ricciardo last season

There are few photos as iconic in Australian motorsport as Mick Doohan proudly waving the Australian flag as he celebrated a triumph on the track.

His son Jack won’t get to replicate such scenes on a F1 circuit, with the rookie driver reportedly having run his last race at the Miami Grand Prix last Sunday.

Following in the footsteps of his five-time world champion father — albeit on four wheels, not two — was always going to be a tough ask, but most Australian sports fans would be shocked to learn Jack’s career is now over barely as it had begun.

But that is life on the mean streets of Formula One: fail to perform, and you will fail to survive.

His highest place finished was 14th at the Bahrain Grand Prix – one of four races Aussie superstar Oscar Piastri has won.

Doohan has only raced in six Grands Prix but has endured one disaster after another. He crashed out in his opening race in Melbourne and did so again in his most recent non-finish in Miami.

He also had a spectacular crash during practice at the Japanese Grand Prix and has luckily walked away from all these mishaps unscathed.

The Gold Coast boy has failed to record any points for his Alpine team, giving team principal Oliver Oakes and senior adviser Flavio Briatore — who was never a massive fan of Doohan’s —all the ammunition they need to move him on in favour of Argentine Franco Colapinto for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Italy on May 18.

And, with two weeks until that race, Alpine will be in no rush to announce the change publicly, leaving Doohan to suffer the speculation of his demise.

While the 22-year-old has been unable to produce on the track, he has impressed off it with the way he has handled the constant reports that his seat with Alpine was never safe — reports which started well before the first race in Melbourne in March.

Like Daniel Ricciardo, who was unceremoniously dumped by Red Bull after the Singapore Grand Prix last year, Doohan has not laid the blame on anyone else for things not going his way.

The only cracks in his friendly veneer came during qualifying for the Miami Grand Prix, when poor planning by his team saw him pit his car, only to be stuck behind teammate Pierre Gasly — resulting in him being unable to get on track for the final lap in time.

He fumed at his team and likely received the only apology he will get in his short career, with the team engineer telling him on the radio they were “sorry”.

This outburst of anger was a rare blemish from Doohan, who has handled himself with such grace during a trying two months.

Before the Miami Grand Prix, he revealed he “didn’t take anything personally” during “difficult times”.

After his debut race at the Australian Grand Prix ended in the worst way possible, he said he was “not really looking for excuses”.

“Each time I get to hop into these machines, it’s a privilege,” he said.

Doohan is expected to stay with the Alpine team after he is axed, so he may again find a way of breaking back onto the F1 track.

But if he has raced his last race at the highest level of race car driving, he can hold his head high.

It would be easy for him to now say the chips were stacked against him and Alpine never really gave him a chance to succeed — but that does not seem to be his style.

Four-time F1 title holder Max Verstappen, who fires up as soon as things don’t go his way, could learn a thing or two from the rookie Australian about how to behave with millions of young fans’ eyes on you.

Doohan clearly is a talented driver and may find a new team or transition to Supercars in Australia, where he could still etch his name in Australian motorsport folklore like his famous father.