Doohan on his F1 debut: “I’m just so happy to drive”

Speaking ahead of his Formula 1 debut at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Jack Doohan expressed that the pressure of Alpine’s constructors’ championship battle takes a backseat to his excitement, saying his eagerness is “overriding everything else”.

Like the rest of the F1 paddock, Doohan learned of his incoming F1 debut during the post-Qatar Grand Prix craze on Sunday evening, declaring himself an “observer” to the situation that saw Esteban Ocon prematurely booted from Alpine for the remainder of the season.

“Yeah, [I found out at the] same time to be honest, Sunday night,” the 21-year-old said.

“And to be honest, I would have been doing FP1 this weekend — so now FP2, FP3 is new territory for me and following. 

“But I’m actually quite happy, if there was any nerves for FP1, there’s less that I’m doing the full race weekend, because I now know I have more time to build into it and just to take it step by step. 

“So, I’ve really enjoyed this week, mentally as well, leading up to it. So I’m excited.”

Minus uncharted Formula 1 pitstop territory, the Australian says he feels more than prepared for the final round of the season, with Alpine and at-home simulators, as well as a full read-through of the sporting regulations putting him in good stead for his debut weekend. 

“Yeah, I’ve been doing quite a lot of testing, whether that’s a race simulation, a Quali simulation, but there is a different aspect of being on a race weekend while testing,” Doohan said.

“You don’t have 90-mile cars on track in qualifying, there’s no legal sporting regulations really to follow, so, there’s quite a few things that I’ve been touching up on this week. 

Doohan admitted that he has been reading a “printout sheet” of sporting regulations in the days leading up to his debut, adding: “On the sporting regulations side, making sure that I’m making the most and not putting myself in any uncomfortable situations. 

“Coming back to the simple stuff like a delayed start, which we saw caused confusion in Brazil, and simple things that I may think that I know, but just going back over them. 

“But yeah, other than that, the team have prepared me quite well. 

“I’m feeling comfortable and feeling ready for the weekend ahead.”

He added: “I think for sure not racing since last year, I’m not going to be as good as I would have been with racing a whole season, but I don’t think I will be any worse. 

“I think I’m more than ready. I’ve been racing on my home simulator as well, and I don’t feel as well that I’m out of touch with that at all.”

In terms of objectives and expectations, Doohan says he isn’t feeling the pressure with the likes of Flavio Briatore, Executive Advisor at Alpine, setting him the target of finishing the race to “learn as much as possible ahead of next year”.

He said the team have been cautious in not overloading him with “any external pressure at all”, as he is encouraged to “take [the weekend] step by step”. 

“For sure, my goal is to meet the team’s objective and to finish P6 in the Constructors’ Championship and to support the team in all ways possible,” Doohan said.

“If I’m doing my job, confident in my abilities and driving fast, I’m sure I’ll be able to support in the ways possible. 

“But it’s something that isn’t, let’s say, bugging me or adding any pressure. 

“I’m just so happy to drive, I think it’s overriding everything else.”

Hailing from a legendary motorsport bloodline, albeit the two-wheel variety, Jack’s father Mick Doohan will be in the paddock to support his son this weekend.

The five-time MotoGP world champion already planned to watch Jack take part as a rookie driver in FP1, however, with the news of the weekend being completely opened up, the flight to Abu Dhabi will be all the more worthwhile. 

“He (Mick Doohan) was actually going to be coming for my FP, he was going to be flying in this morning,” Jack said.  

“But yeah, he’s just more happy that he wasn’t just watching me once on track and getting to watch me all weekend. 

“We sat this morning and had breakfast together, which was super nice because I hadn’t seen him since around Baku time. 

And yeah, he’s really excited for me as well so, it’s a super special moment.”

On the advice his father gave him for this weekend, the Alpine driver said: “To be honest, nothing now.” 

“He’s leaving me to it. 

“He’s definitely passed on so much experience and so much knowledge and advice over my years. 

“And he’s comfortable and confident with where my head is at currently and where we’ve gripped together. 

“So we’re just enjoying our moments together.”

The Australian will jump into the cockpit for the first session of his debut weekend at 20:30 AEST tonight, building up to Qualifying and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix before completing the post-season test with Alpine on Tuesday.

Image: Mark Sutton / Sutton Images

2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Schedule: 

Friday, December 6:

FP1: 20:30 – 21:30

Saturday, December 7:

FP2: 00:00 – 01:00

FP3: 21:30 – 22:30

Sunday, December 8:

Qualifying: 01:00 – 02:00

Monday, December 9:

Race: 00:00

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