Jack Doohan is set to drive for Alpine in FP1 at 2022 Mexico City Grand Prix.
Doohan’s F1 debut in Free Practice One (FP1) at this weekend’s Mexico City Grand Prix comes after Alpine opted against giving Oscar Piastri some time in the car, following the Aussie’s acrimonious decision to sign for McLaren next season.
Alpine have confirmed that Doohan will replace Esteban Ocon for the session and will mark his second outing in the current car – having driven the car at Monza, Italy, for a filming day, whilst he also tested last year’s race-winning car in Qatar, Monza, and Hungary this year.
The 19 year-old spoke of feeling “extremely grateful to Alpine” for providing him with a “huge honour” of this FP1 opportunity in Mexico, and he will again drive for the team in FP1 at Abu Dhabi, where he will replace Fernando Alonso in that session.
Doohan – formerly of Red Bull’s Junior Programme – however iterated that his aim is to be racing in F1 and believes that this opportunity represents a step forward in his ambition.
On what he expects from the test, Doohan commented: “I’ve prepared as best as I can, and I think it’s going to be very exciting to experience the car at this type of circuit with the high altitude and very high top speed.
“I’ll work hard on the day, do everything the team sets out and, at the same time, enjoy the moment as I know it’s going to be a unique opportunity.”
Alpine Team Principal, Otmar Szafnauer stated that he is “very pleased” to place Doohan in the car for FP1 in Mexico City and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix, having found himself “impressed” by the Aussie’s progress across this season in F2 and within the Alpine Academy.
Szafnauer however iterated that he expects Doohan to maximise his opportunity as he said: “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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