Jack Doohan to join F1 ranks with French outfit Alpine
Son of a gun Jack Doohan has secured a berth on next year’s Formula 1 grid, giving Australia potentially three drivers at the top level for the first time in nearly half a century.
Thirty years after his father Mick Doohan won the first of his five motorcycling world championships, Doohan has signed a contract with French outfit Alpine, joining compatriots Oscar Piastri (McLaren) and Daniel Ricciardo (RB) among the exclusive group on the F1 circuit next year.
Jack Doohan has signed a contract with French outfit Alpine.Credit: Alpine Media
Not since 1976 when Alan Jones, Larry Perkins and Warwick Brown were at the top has Australia had three F1 drivers in the same season, though that is dependent on Ricciardo retaining his seat with RB, which is not guaranteed.
With so few seats available, F1 is one of the most competitive sports in the world. Doohan, the first driver to come through Alpine’s academy, will be only the 16th Australian to start in a race.
“There’s a lot of pride and joy,” Doohan said. “I haven’t thought about it in that perspective, regardless of Australia, it is a very exclusive club. There’s 20 seats.
“For this year, there was no driver change at all. It’s something that is very difficult to get into. I’m very happy regardless of what plays out I can make my dream come true.”
Jack Doohan with his father Mick Doohan after a Formula 2 win in Budapest in 2022.Credit: Getty Images
In another boost for motorsport in this country, Doohan, 21, is poised to make his F1 debut on home soil at next year’s Australian Grand Prix, which opens the 2025 season due to the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Grands Prix being pushed back to accommodate Ramadan.
The last local to make his F1 debut in Melbourne was Mark Webber, who famously secured a point for Minardi, then run by an Australian, Paul Stoddart, in a dramatic race where only eight of the 22 drivers finished.
“It was crazy,” Doohan said of the prospect of cutting his teeth at Albert Park .
“I remember I saw that back in Melbourne this year, when there was the potential for the Australian GP being the opener and thinking ahead to how cool that would be to be making my Formula 1 debut at my home GP. That’s something really cool to look forward to but also having to make sure I manage that weekend well.”
Jack on Mick’s shoulders at the 2005 Indy 300.Credit: Getty Images
The announcement on Friday that Doohan will partner Frenchman Pierre Gasly for Alpine had been widely expected in F1 circles. Doohan has been Alpine’s reserve driver since the start of last year after rising through the ranks in Formula 3 and Formula 2. The role had been formerly filled by Piastri before his graduation to the F1 grid with McLaren. Doohan and Piastri go back a long way to their days karting as kids.
Motorsport may not be a frontline sport in this country, but the Doohan name is readily recognised by many Australian sports fans over the age of 30.
Motorcyclist Mick Doohan was a force on two wheels in the 1990s in what is now known as the MotoGPs, winning five straight titles from 1994-98 at a time when international races were broadcast on free to air late on Sunday nights and the early hours of Monday mornings.
Father was emotional watching his son sign his F1 contract a few weeks ago, the younger Doohan said. Doohan, though, does not feel any pressure that comes with the family name.
“It’s something I’m very familiar with early days in karting or racing, and in the single seaters,” Doohan said. “[I] very quickly found out my dad’s last name can only get me so far. I think if it was on two wheels there’d be some expectation.”
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