“We’ll be watching him closely,” Alpine put pressure on reserve driver Jack Doohan to win 2023 F2 title
Otmar Szafnauer is confident that Jack Doohan will improve as a driver this year.
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Jack Doohan
Jack Doohan is a long-standing member of the Alpine junior academy. For 2023, Doohan has been signed on as reserve driver for them. The 20-year-old will continue to race in the Formula 2 championship this year. Alpine Team Principal, Otmar Szafnauer reckons the Australian driver has what it takes to finally win the F1 feeder series. Last season, he won three races but finished sixth. A disastrous pit stop in the season finale takes some blame for that, as he was fourth going into the weekend.
Otmar Szafnauer recently explained the reason behind Jack Doohan‘s appointment as the Alpine reserve. The 58-year-old told Fox Sports: “The reason we named him [as reserve driver] is he has a chance of winning the F2 championship.” Otmar further mentioned Doohan’s consistent performances last year despite having some bad luck. He said, “He was a little bit unlucky last year in his first year. But he showed some very good promise.”
So, the Alpine team boss is confident that Doohan can work on his mistakes from his rookie season. Szafnauer continued, “He’s learned in ’22. And I look forward to him winning the F2 championship in ’23.” Additionally, Otmar Szafnauer mentioned that the team will be watching Doohan’s F2 season keenly. The 58-year-old said, “So we’ll be watching him closely.”
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Otmar Szafnauer on Jack Doohan: “His racecraft will improve,”
Moreover, Otmar praised the Australian driver for the talent he has shown on track. Szafnauer believes Jack Doohan will improve further as the 20-year-old gains more experience. The Alpine Team Principal stated, “He’s learning, he’s super-fast. And I’m sure, with more races under his belt, his racecraft will improve, too.” On the prospects of Doohan making an F1 debut, Otmar reckoned the Aussie needs to win the F2 title. He said, “It would help to win the F2 championship.”
Although, the 58-year-old pointed out the fact that luck too plays a factor in such championships. He explained, “However, there’s a little bit of luck that goes along with that.” Lastly, Otmar Szafnauer mentioned Jack Doohan’s presence in the Alpine F1 garage throughout the season as per his duties as its reserve driver. He concluded, “as our reserve driver, he’ll be with the team at every race.” Perhaps, Jack can get some advice from Esteban Ocon or Pierre Gasly this season.
So, Szafnauer is optimistic about Doohan’s chances to win the 2023 Formula 2 championship. The Australian is being watched keenly by F1’s only French team with the possibility of a race seat sometime in the future. However, presently, Doohan needs to focus entirely on his F2 campaign for this year and get to grips with the workings of Alpine as its reserve driver.
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