Doohan digests Melbourne mistake: “I came to peace with it”

Jack Doohan says he “came to peace with” the mistake that saw him bow out of his home race on the first lap, switching his focus to the new challenge of his first Sprint weekend in Formula 1. 

No stranger to success around the Shanghai International Circuit, Doohan took to the top step of the podium in China when racing in the FIA Asian F3 championship.

“That was a long time ago! Well, for me, six years ago,” Doohan laughed.

But now, however, the task is all the more difficult, especially after a confidence setback on the opening lap of the season opener. 

Wet weather and inexperience got the better of four rookies during Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix, with Doohan the second to crash out of the race after losing traction in the torrential conditions. 

Certain drivers’ performances and post-race emotions sparked both positive and negative conversation in the media over the weekend, with Red Bull Advisor, Helmut Marko even going as far as calling Isack Hadjar’s tearful display “embarrassing”, however, our young Australian says its a matter of out of sight, out of mind. 

“To be honest, I don’t really look at [the comments],” he said.

“You know, I think if you were to worry about each and every opinion that went up and down the paddock, you’d be here for hours. 

“And especially for me, I don’t have that time, I just worry about what I can control and that’s putting my butt in the car and driving as fast as I can. 

“You know, we had so many positives to take from Melbourne, and I just look forward to picking up and continuing with those in Shanghai.”

The forecast for this weekend’s running will allow the newcomers to breathe a sigh of relief, with sunshine set to be the backdrop for the first Sprint race of Doohan’s F1 career.

Despite the intense start to the season, with chaos and a new format running within the span side-by-side on the calendar to start 2025, the Australian says he isn’t feeling the pressure. 

“To be honest, I don’t think the pressure was necessarily too high, I think, you know, we all want to perform.

“And I can’t comment on anyone else (the other rookies), but you know, I had a little stuff up, a mistake that I didn’t want to happen that happened, and you know, I digested it very quickly and I came to peace with it, which is important.

“I just look forward to moving forward.”

His direct focus is the challenge of the Sprint weekend, particularly the difficulty of a lack of practice being allowed in the tight schedule which has been amplified by the newly-resurfaced Shanghai International Circuit.

“A Sprint race I think is 19 laps, you know, shorter, more compact, concise race, a bit more pushing, probably,” the 22-year-old said.

“You know, let’s see. I’m excited!

Doohan added: “You have to be on it from the get-go, and I look forward to that.

“The circuit looks very cool. It’s resurfaced so we’ll have to see how things have changed, but I’m excited to get started.”

The limited one hour of practice at the Shanghai International Circuit will kick off at 14:30, with a lot of learning to be squeezed into Free Practice before Sprint Qualifying takes place this evening.

Image: BWT Alpine F1 Team

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