Oakes says Doohan is "ready" for Abu Dhabi despite last-minute replacement
F1 News
Alpine team principal Oliver Oakes believes that Jack Doohan is "ready" to replace Esteban Ocon for the season finale at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in an last-minite replacmeent. The Australian will join the Formula 1 grid offically to pair up with Pierre Gasly at the French team, but he will get an extra start to his name in the desert due to Ocon leaving before the end of the 2024 season.
After two podiums and a stunning race win at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix, Ocon decided to leave Alpine before the end of the season. The Frenchman will join Haas alongside Oliver Bearman in 2025. After his DNF at the Qatar Grand Prix, Ocon hinted at leaving early, saying his goodbyes to the team and wishing them well for the future.
Then, earlier today, it was announced that Doohan will be replacing the Frenchman for the final race of the season. It will be his Grand Prix weekend debut in the premier class of motorsport, and it will give the Australian practice of a full F1 weekend before he takes to the grid as a fully-fledged driver in 2025.
Oakes says it's "never easy to judge" what rookies can achieve
Before Doohan was officially announced that he would be driving in Abu Dhabi, Oakes spoke in the paddock at the Qatar Grand Prix to several media sources, including GPblog, and he was asked how he thinks the Australian would fare at the season finale in his first-ever F1 start: "I think anyone who gets thrown into an F1 car in a race like that, it's never easy to judge, is it? The problem is you've got the benchmark of what Bearman set which was phenomenal in Saudi. You've got, and I mean this in a nice way, because he's hugely talented, but you have Kimi [Antonelli] with the pressure in Monza. At the end of the day, Jack's just got to take it as he finds it. He's professional enough to handle it. Once you ease into the weekend, FP1, FP2, you can build up to it as well."
But for Doohan, it won't be like he is jumping into a car that he has not seen at all this year. He has been the reserve driver for the French team for the 204 season, putting in plenty of testing miles for the team behind the wheel of their current car. As a result, Oakes is hopeful that Alpine have given the perfect platform for the Australian to succeed: "I think the program has been, dare say, well planned for him. Although the team doesn't get much credit for the Piastri situation, they are pretty good with young drivers and preparing them. Jack's been on that same path, he's been with me quite a bit in the garage. He's listened to the intercom with me and Flav [Flavio Briatore, ed.] giving us his two pennies as well. I'm sure he's ready for it."