Doohan “decently happy” to debut from P17

On debut, Jack Doohan will start the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from P17, ending his first-ever Formula 1 Qualifying session “disappointed with the end result”, but remaining focused on the positives.

In his first-ever Formula 1 Qualifying session, Doohan called upon his three hours of practice in the A524 as he competed for his debut grid slot. 

Out of the pitlane, the #61 completed a “solid” opening run, recording a primary lap time of 1:24.132s.

Sitting six-tenths behind the then-benchmark, Doohan’s lap time dragged him into the bottom five, and eventually to the very bottom of the order once all drivers’ initial attempts had been completed. 

Called into the pitlane at the midway point of Q1, Doohan prepared to rejoin the session in a timely manner, however, the pitlane soon became overcrowded with cars, impacting his tyre temperatures. 

The Australian said he was forced to slam on the brakes as he exited the pitlane, running slower than he would have liked which made making it to the line before the chequered flag a race in itself.

“I think the first run was solid,” Doohan said. 

“I felt I could take some nice steps forward with the car but also myself. So I was decently happy. 

“Second run I think we were a little bit on the back foot just exiting the pitlane. A very tricky situation, coming to a halt. 

“So from that point, tyre temps and everything was a little bit down. 

“From that point, pushing like a maniac just to make the flag in the end, and a big back-up when we got to sector three, trying to manage the gap to Stroll and then a few Mercedes came past. 

“The clutch was in between [Turns] 15 to 16.”

The Australian crossed the line with a final time of 1:24.105s, leaving him as the slowest driver in the session in P20, eight-tenths off Charles Leclerc’s Q1 benchmark.

“Unfortunately it’s very hard to ask the car to perform as you want when you’re well done on tyre temperatures and having the car in the window. It’s just unfortunate,” he said.

“I’m definitely disappointed with the end result but it’s not the last time that that will happen so I’m grateful for the experience now. 

“The team and I will go back and debrief on how we can manage these situations better – them and also on me, to ensure that when we are faced with these circumstances again, we’re in a better position.”

The Australian added: “For sure, I’m not happy at all. 

“But I need to look at the positives and there was a very steep learning curve, a situation that I didn’t really want to face today but I did. 

“So I’m just looking forward to the race now and making sure that I can put myself in the best possible now to assist the team.”

Although ending the session with the slowest overall time, Doohan won’t be starting his debut Grand Prix from the last row of the grid, instead inheriting his way into P17 due to Alex Albon, Charles Leclerc and Franco Colapinto’s respective grid penalties.

The Alpine driver will share the ninth row with Albon and will have the seven-time world champion as his first target on the run to the first turn.

“I’m just looking forward to enjoying my first race,” Doohan concluded. 

“I think it’s important that I finish the race and take valuable data and information and knowledge from my side in my first race and in over 12 months in real life, not virtually. 

“It’ll just be taking everything in and enjoying the moment.”

Lights out for Doohan’s Formula 1 debut will take place at 00:00 AEDT tonight. 

Image: Glenn Dunbar / LAT 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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