Alpine junior Jack Doohan will drive for the team in the first practice session at this weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix and the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The two sessions will be Doohan’s first in a Formula 1 car on a race weekend, and in Alpine’s A522 car. The Formula 2 racer has previously done private running this year in the manufacturer’s 2021 car.Doohan lies fourth in the F2 standings with one round to go, and the rookie is in contention to be championship runner-up. He looks set to race in the series again next year, and will likely also replace McLaren-bound Oscar Piastri as Alpine’s reserve driver.
“I’ve had a few runs this year in the A521, but to be actually driving this year’s current F1 car but also on the same track at the same time as the current F1 drivers, on a F1 weekend, is going to be unbelievable and something that I’ve dreamt of since I’ve been a little kid,” said Doohan
“We had some good time on the sim, in which I was able to work with the engineers to kind of get my head around it. It’s quite an extraordinary circuit and place. So it’s going to be an experience, and not only for a new track, but to experience conditions like this. But nevertheless I’m super-excited.
“I’ve been over-looking, you could say, the F1 weekend from afar over my F2 season so far, being able to come up into the paddock at certain points. But actually being able to be full-time in the F1 paddock and be with the engineers through every moment of the weekend will enable me to really understand the step-by-step movements that is required to fully be ready for these sessions and for the participation in the session.”
By placing Doohan in the car at two events, with the 19-year-old replacing Esteban Ocon in Mexico and Fernando Alonso in Abu Dhabi, Alpine will complete the new-for-2022 requirement of running a driver with less than three grand prix starts in two first practice sessions across the season.
“We have all been impressed with Jack’s progression across many areas this season and he’s deserving of this chance as we continue to nurture his high potential,” said Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer.
“It’s important to give our young drivers opportunities to test Formula 1 cars and our Academy programme has proven to be successful in doing just that. We expect Jack to work hard during the session and take as much as he can from the experience of being involved in a Formula 1 grand prix weekend.”
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F1 teams’ junior driver practice schedules
| Team | Event | Driver | Event | Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercedes | French Grand Prix | Nyck de Vries | TBC | TBC |
| Red Bull | Spanish Grand Prix | Juri Vips | TBC | TBC |
| Ferrari | United States Grand Prix | Robert Shwartzman | TBC | Robert Shwartzman |
| McLaren | United States Grand Prix | Alex Palou | Abu Dhabi Grand Prix | Pato O’Ward |
| Alpine | Mexico City Grand Prix | Jack Doohan | Abu Dhabi Grand Prix | Jack Doohan |
| AlphaTauri | Belgian Grand Prix | Liam Lawson | TBC | Liam Lawson |
| Aston Martin | Italian Grand Prix | Nyck de Vries | Abu Dhabi Grand Prix | Felipe Drugovich |
| Williams | Spanish Grand Prix | Nyck de Vries | United States Grand Prix | Logan Sargeant |
| Alfa Romeo | Bahrain Grand Prix | Zhou Guanyu | United States Grand Prix | Theo Pourchaire |
| Haas | Mexican Grand Prix | Pietro Fittipaldi | Abu Dhabi Grand Prix | Pietro Fittipaldi |
Napier Railton (@napierrailton)
25th October 2022, 22:39
I wonder how much longer the Alpine Junior program is going to last.
It’s not going very well fo the alpine team, let’s be honest.
delphi
26th October 2022, 1:17
Awful lot of whinging from them but all they have to do is tighten their contracts to bind the driver and make (& honour their) commitments to get them to actually sign.
mooa42
26th October 2022, 2:02
What’s with their fascination with Australian drivers, Riccardo, Piastri and now Doohan. Not even sure if you can buy an Alpine car in Australia?
If history is any guide, I expect Doohan to leave Alpine earlier than expected :)
wsrgo (@wsrgo)
26th October 2022, 6:15
Doohan used to be part of the Red Bull programme earlier, but was axed after a poor first season in F3 (though so did Hauger, yet Red Bull retained their support of him, and later promoted him to a full Junior Team member after he beat Doohan to the F3 title last year). I dunno if Alpine came to Doohan with an offer, or if it was the other way around.
Jere (@jerejj)
26th October 2022, 11:07
@wsrgo I didn’t know he was in the RB program, but by quick Googling, he apparently merely switched to Alpine Academy rather than got axed for poor results.
Short Circuit (@jjohn)
27th October 2022, 3:27
mooa42 No idea what the fascination is. We seem to be causing heaps of upheavals but not achieving anything spectacular.
You can buy an Alpine here as long as you order it and wait for your ship to come in.
Sunbeam Alpines are still kicking around , but none come with. Maxwell Smarts shoephone 😗.
I actually had one for ahem Saturday nights and a Morris Oxford for Saturday morning shopping. Both served their respective purposes admirably.
Short Circuit (@jjohn)
27th October 2022, 4:15
I didn’t report myself. 🤬
bogaaaa (@nosehair)
25th October 2022, 22:51
Doohan looks the goods in his debut year , his teammate is in another zip code
wsrgo (@wsrgo)
26th October 2022, 6:14
Thank goodness, I was worried Alpine had forgotten about Friday rookie practices, or were testing the FIA on the rules. As @jerejj had pointed out earlier, Mexico and Abu Dhabi are really the only two last viable options, since Brazil is a sprint weekend. Good luck to Jack.
wsrgo (@wsrgo)
26th October 2022, 6:57
Additionally, I feel Doohan has been as impressive as Sargeant this year. Both rookies, but Doohan has had much worse luck and most of his lost points aren’t down to crashes and spins like Sargeant. Sure, Doohan doesn’t have a great teammate in Marino Sato, and the way Sargeant has dismantled the more-experienced Liam Lawson is impressive, I feel Sargeant isn’t ready for F1, and just like Doohan, would have benefited from another season in F2.
Jere (@jerejj)
26th October 2022, 11:04
@wsrgo Sargeant could still end up continuing in F2, depending on how well he does in Abu Dhabi.
Pedro
26th October 2022, 9:59
Doohan made a vert good season on F2, and showed that he can bem quick, needs to manage his patience imo. Alpine programme has fair good drivers, Doohan can be F2 Runner up in the F2, had the F3 Champion and Collet that can be a contender next year.
Hope all goes well with his tests.
wsrgo (@wsrgo)
26th October 2022, 12:02
F3 champ has a name. Victor Martins.
Pedro
26th October 2022, 17:35
Yes my bad, thougt i had written down