Doohan “channelling” home support ahead of Qualifying

Rounding out the day as the only rookie to beat their teammate in both sessions, Jack Doohan says he is “channelling” the home support going into a competitive Qualifying Session in Melbourne.

Stepping onto centre stage, Doohan opened Friday’s running with a string of positive improvements, landing him an early place within the top ten fastest times. 

Disrupted by the first Red Flag of the session, the Australian slipped down the order, with his lack of running being amplified by a second lengthier delay due to a crash. 

Not risking any more time lost in the pitlane, Alpine instantly sent their new recruit out to compete for the final ten minutes of the session. 

On the soft compound, the #7 moved into P15 with a time of 1:18.527s before besting that, and his teammate, to run in twelfth.

When the chequered flag fell, Doohan remained ahead of Pierre Gasly, however, rounded out his first home practice session in P13.

“It was not too bad, constantly trying things across both cars so, you know, who’s faster than who is not really a priority at the moment,” Doohan assured.

“We’re both testing at the moment, trying to maximise our package for tomorrow.

“Pierre’s super quick, comfortable in the car, so we’re not really focusing so much on our lap times, just really build our balance and making sure they’re in a good place for tomorrow.”

“It was a constant day of learning,” Doohan added.

“The cars ran well in both sessions, we were able to maximise our running with the conditions that we got, and we’ll continue discussing what we can do for tomorrow morning.

“A few little tweaks in FP3 to set ourself in a good position for Quali.”

It was a quiet start to FP2 for Doohan before he took a step closer to the top ten, lapping Albert Park in 1:18.199s and further improving as the laps ticked by.

Discarding the medium compound, Doohan clung to the border of the top ten on the C5 before an error left the Alpine driver asking the team to “check the car” as he “bottomed a bit on the exit of Turn 10”.

Doohan eventually switched back to the medium compound, with the remainder of the session holding strong as he continued to familiarise himself with the circuit, ending the day in P14 ahead of Pierre Gasly.

“The first few laps with my home crowd, in a Formula 1 car, you know, it was amazing, some great emotions,” Doohan said.

“I’m channelling those, going to enjoy those when they happen, naturally, but focusing on the job ahead.”

Doohan will hope his upward trajectory continues to Saturday’s running, with FP3 the final chance to make mistakes before the 22-year-old takes on his second Formula 1 Qualifying Session.

Image: Epic Sports Photography – Peter Norton

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