OCTOBER 29, 2023

Doohan to focus on F1 with Alpine in 2024

Jack Doohan, the son of two-wheeled Australian legend Mick, will not be on the Formula 2 grid next year.

The 20-year-old Australian, who is a Formula 1 reserve driver for Alpine, got at the wheel of Pierre Gasly's car in Mexico on Friday as part of the team's rookie driver requirement for 2023.

Trackside in Mexico, young Doohan then announced that he would not be returning to F2 for a third consecutive season in 2024 - although he will stay with Alpine for his F1 duties.

My two years in Formula 2 haven't necessarily gone exactly to plan, Jack told publications including the Australian Associated Press in Mexico City.

He was sixth in 2022 and currently fourth overall in 2023 - and will not now try to win the series next year.

I think I've done well and been able to show my capabilities, said Doohan.

"Doing another year of F2, if you win it, it's expected, and if you don't ... there's all to lose and not much to gain, so I think we're doing the right thing.

But the goal and trajectory is still Formula 1, and the team is still pushing for that, with me staying within the team and still pushing for that seat. This is my route, and I'm sure I'll get there, he added.

Recently at Jerez, Mick Schumacher - who coincidentally is named after Jack Doohan's famous father - tested Alpine's new top-category Le Mans-style prototype car.

Will Doohan now get a test in the same car ahead of a potential full-time world endurance championship project in 2024?

We tested him in LMP2, Alpine's interim F1 boss Bruno Famin told France's Auto Hebdo. "We have no plans to test him in the hypercar at this time.

Perhaps he will, but the LMP2 test was already quite representative.
(GMM)