Formula 1 News: Jack Doohan Recounts Emotional Moment He Landed F1 Seat with Alpine
As the Formula 1 schedule heats up, Australian driver Jack Doohan has opened up about the surreal moment he discovered he would be joining Alpine’s Formula 1 team. In an exclusive interview, Doohan revealed that he received the life-changing phone call while driving home from a mediocre dinner in Spa, Belgium.
“I was coming back from a quite mediocre dinner in a small little restaurant in Spa on the Monday night, before my testing the following day,” Doohan recalled. “I got a call on the way home, back to the hotel, my father [Mick Doohan] was next to me, my performance coach [Sergi Garcia] was behind me, and I got the news that I’ll be racing next year, I’ll be the driver.”
Despite his excitement, Doohan couldn’t remember who broke the news to him over the phone. “I can’t even remember, I was just overjoyed to be having that phone call!” he exclaimed. The young driver would go on to sign with Alpine a couple of days later, cementing his place in the Formula 1 standings.
As he navigated the challenges of waiting for a seat to become available, Doohan turned to his father, Mick, a former MotoGP champion, for guidance. “I think just guiding me on a mental perspective, how I’m conducting myself,” Doohan said of his father’s influence. “It was some difficult times knowing that at points my future was obviously outside of my control. There were points of waiting making sure I was positioning myself in the right way.”
In the meantime, Doohan will continue to serve as Alpine’s reserve driver for the remainder of the 2024 season to stay in the mix of Formula 1 news. He has been busy honing his skills, participating in Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) events in the A522 Formula 1 car and logging hours in the team’s simulator.
“The TPC stuff does an exceptional job in preparing me, albeit it’s not a 2024 car, it is a ’22 car, just same regulations,” Doohan said. Though he has fulfilled his mandatory FP1 sessions, he would welcome any opportunity to get behind the wheel for extra practice. “At this point, my focus is to fulfil my role as a reserve driver, making sure that I maximise my time in the sim because every development that I’m doing of bettering the car that we’re currently driving now is bettering a potential ’25 car that I’ll be driving next year.”
As the Formula 1 season continues to unfold, fans will be keeping a close eye on Doohan’s progress and eagerly anticipating his debut. Stay tuned for the latest Formula 1 news, Formula 1 schedule, and Formula 1 standings updates.
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