Jack Doohan could secure a spot in Formula 1 based on his performances in F2
Otmar Szafnauer, the director of Alpine, has set the goals that Jack Doohan must achieve in order to earn his place in F1, as the Australian starts his first season as an Alpine reserve.
After seeing Oscar Piastri join the 2023 grid after a season in the Alpine garage, Jack Doohan hopes to follow in his compatriot’s footsteps. Only this time, Alpine would like the promotion to be in their favor.
Younger than Oscar Piastri (18 months apart), Jack Doohan has arrived at Alpine from Red Bull’s talent pool after finishing second in the 2021 F3 season. Last year, the Australian came close to a podium finish in Formula 2 before being penalized by Virtuosi’s reliability issues.
By combining his new reserve driver position at Alpine with another year at Virtuosi, Jack Doohan knows exactly what awaits him. It won’t be an easy task. Although the 2022 F2 champion Felipe Drugovich and Williams recruit Logan Sargeant have moved up to F1, last year’s vice-champion Théo Pourchaire will be hard to stop.
Dennis Hauger, who finished ahead of Jack Doohan in Formula 3, will also be vying for the title. Despite this competition, Otmar Szafnauer, the director of the Alpine team, believes that the Australian has a real chance. (e) We have named him because he has a chance of winning the F2 championship. He had a bit of bad luck last year in his first season, but he showed a lot of promise. (e) He is talented, fast, and he learned a lot in 2022, and I can’t wait to see him win the F2 championship in 2023. (e)
A reserve driver position as an opportunity
All eyes will be on Pierre Gasly as he leaves AlphaTauri for the first time. There are big questions surrounding Alpine’s new recruit, including his relationship with Esteban Ocon. The French duo insists that they have patched up their past disputes, but the proof will be shown on the track.
If Pierre Gasly fails to express his talent with Alpine, Jack Doohan must be ready to pounce. Likewise, if Esteban Ocon is resoundingly beaten by his compatriot, Otmar Szafnauer may consider making a change. Then the Australian could take the place after a successful F2 season. We will be closely monitoring him, and as a reserve driver, he will be with the team at every race. He is learning, he is super fast, and I am confident that with more races under his belt, his experience will improve. He has been part of our academy for some time now and will continue to be in the future, stated Szafnauer at the launch of the A523, after revealing Doohan’s promotion to Fox Sports.
