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doohan likely to alpine, justified or not?

Alpine seems to have chosen this Australian talent for '25: Logical or not?

1 August at 11:30
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  • Ludo van Denderen

Will Alpine still regret not giving their then reserve driver Oscar Piastri the chance to debut in Formula 1? Meanwhile, McLaren's Australian can call himself a Grand Prix winner, while Alpine is already looking for a new runner-up alongside Pierre Gasly. It looks like Jack Doohan (21) will soon be announced for a permanent place with the French team; not a driver of Piastri's calibre, but a choice aimed at the future. At least, that is what Alpine hopes.

In recent years, Doohan has been trained for the big time by the French team and - let's face it - if Carlos Sainz had accepted Alpine's advances, Doohan's F1 entry would not have happened (at least for now). But Formula 1 is often about being in the right place at the right time - see the saga with Piastri. Does that also mean Doohan is ready for Formula 1? That is the big question.

Doohan no super talent in step-up classes

Doohan - the son of motorsport legend Mick - is not known as a super talent. In the classes on his way to F1, he was especially hugely variable; one day Doohan could run a great race, only to compete anonymously in the rear one day later. The Australian never managed to become a champion in F3 and F2, despite always having sky-high expectations. Seen in this light, it is remarkable that Doohan did get a chance in the top class of motorsport, while contemporaries like Felipe Drugovich and Theo Pourchaire did not.

That Alpine seems to be opting for Doohan in the end is mainly because there is no better alternative available. That things have been unsettled for ages does not make the team a welcome destination for drivers. The real top drivers - even the guys just below them - are more likely to think of destinations where there is a bit more peace and order. The drivers who did make it feasible for Alpine are called Mick Schumacher, Kevin Magnussen, Guanyu Zhou and Valtteri Bottas. Are these the people who know how to take this team a step further? Of course not, even Alpine's management realised.

In that case, it makes much more sense to give the chance to Doohan, who has been around the Alpine Academy for years, so knows the team and in which many millions of euros have been invested. And if, unexpectedly, the Doohan experiment does not go as Alpine hopes, it could just end quickly. If Doohan does manage to excel in Formula 1, Alpine could have many more years with him. In that case, no one will be talking about the missed opportunity with Piastri.

This article has been written in collaboration with Matt Gretton