I'm a motorcyclist. I try to ride every day. I own a car because I have a family, and sometimes it's not possible to drag my teenager's three-story woodshop project home in the tankbag on my poor Hawk.

That said, I still feel like a traitor to my people when I drive or ride in a car. This extends to racing: I never watch car racing because I have no interest in it.

I made an exception when Michael Doohan's son, Jack, started driving this season in F1. I saw the entirety of "Mick" Doohan's racing career—from his days as a Yamaha WSBK rider to his multiple Grand Prix championships and eventual sad end when his career was cut short after trying to win wet practice one morning at Jerez. I used to say that was the dumbest way to end a GP career, but I'm nicer now, and I've seen plenty of racing careers end in similar fashion in the 25-odd years since.

Again, I'm no expert on anything to do with cars in any form, but in terms of racing, I took notice of Jack Doohan's F1 ride this year.

By the sound of it, young Jack has already been hired and fired from an F1 seat. He had a few big crashes and made some mistakes—which is what rookies do, whether they're playing AAA basketball, racing in MotoGP, or in F1.

On the upside, Jack Doohan walked away from his F1 stint. And by that I mean under his own power and in full control of his faculties. Young Jack is so young that he never saw his old man—the indifferent and saucy Mick—race a 500. That’s probably a good thing, because if he had, Jack may never have even tried racing anything.

Mick Doohan's rookie seasons on a 500 were so fraught with crashes—big crashes—that people seriously wondered if he might die before he figured out how to ride an NSR500. Before he ever won a title, Mick was already maimed and scarred up one side and down the other of his body. His mental strength at the time was such that he could bounce right back after huge crashes. And in his defense—not that Mick needed anyone to defend him—he did go on to win five 500cc world titles once he figured out the Honda.

Mick had one thing, though, that his son didn’t seem to: he had the full support of his team and of Honda. Jack Doohan’s F1 drive—or whatever they call it—was nothing of the kind. The team was openly discussing the possibility of replacing Jack from the moment he first strapped himself into the car. A racer needs to be incredibly mentally strong to deal with that kind of instability from the people allowing him to compete.

It’s well known that Michael Doohan and Michael Schumacher were friends. I bet Jack Doohan’s rookie season in an F1 car would have gone very differently if Michael Schumacher were still around and attending races.