Otmar Szafnauer full of praise for ‘very professional’ junior Jack Doohan

Otmar Szafnauer full of praise for ‘very professional’ junior Jack Doohan

Jack Doohan

Jack Doohan will continue full-time in Formula 2 for the second consecutive season. While this is not exactly ‘ideal’ for his future F1 hopes, it’s the next best thing to an F1 seat. Last year, when the Oscar Piastri saga with Alpine kicked off, Doohan had put himself front and center as a replacement – and got two practice sessions and running in the post-season Abu Dhabi test. He’d even tried to get into the main seat, however, unfortunately for him, it wasn’t successful.

He certainly has a chance in the future – especially if he impresses in Formula 2 again. The Australian had a good debut campaign, right up until his wheel detached after a pit stop during the season-ending Abu Dhabi GP. He is also a prime contender for the Alpine reserve driver role for 2023, even if there has not been any confirmation on that yet. Even if he does get that role, Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer has come out and said that the 19-year-old’s ‘full focus’ will be on F2.

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Szafnauer looks like a fan of Doohan. When speaking about his prospects for 2023, Szafnauer said as per Formula1.com: “Next year he’ll be in Formula 2 again. He’ll be part of the Alpine family going forward but his focus for next year will be to win the [Formula 2] championship. He is really really good. He is very professional for a young man, and he works hard, he prepares himself well. He drives within himself too… so, he’s got great potential.”

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As to whether Doohan will be Alpine’s reserve driver for 2023 or not (the signs point to it not being of particular importance to him, see below), the Alpine team boss said: “I haven’t thought of that yet, but he will definitely have a role in the team; as to what role, we haven’t decided.”

Read More: Jack Doohan reveals what made him ‘scared’ of following his dad’s footsteps

Jack Doohan has already called ‘Formula 2’ his main priority

Jack Doohan
Jack Doohan

A reserve driver role, depending on your duties, may mean that you will be in the paddock every weekend, as is the case with Mick Schumacher. Or it may mean you will be able sporadically, like Daniel Ricciardo’s ‘third driver’ role at Red Bull – he’ll share reserve duties with Liam Lawson (who will also compete in Super Formula). One thing is common in all of them – you will be front and center to replace a driver that is unavailable (for any reason).

Nyck de Vries’s Monza outing at Williams, coming through his FP1 duties with Aston Martin being on the same weekend, eventually snowballed into a seat at AlphaTauri. Availability clearly matters. It could prove to be the ‘key’ point in a team taking a chance on you. However, what happened with de Vries is a hundred-to-one shot, to say the least.

That’s why, for Jack Doohan, his focus is clearly on winning F2 – and not any potential reserve driver duties. Speaking to Speedcafe.com, he made this clear: “Honestly, being a Reserve Driver or not doesn’t help me, or doesn’t really do anything for me. The main priority – it’s a bit repetitive – but is to focus fully on Formula 2. I could come around to all the Formula 1 races and sit there and be there, but, number one, the likelihood of obviously hopping in a car is, as we know, very, very low.”

The Australian will have another go at Formula 2 in 2023 – but it’s interesting to wonder what he’ll do if he doesn’t achieve his goal of winning the series. Another year in F2 (after 2023) may not be ideal for his F1 dreams, and he might have to look to another racing series. If he wins, of course, then he’ll be ‘hot property’ for F1 teams looking for a young, fast, and proven driver.

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