Alpine boss Otmar Szafnauer issues backing to STRUGGLING star

Alpine

Alpine boss Szafnauer issues backing to STRUGGLING star

Otmar Szafnauer says he has full faith in his reserve driver after a below par season in F2

Dan McCarthy

Friday 23 June 2023 14:57

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Otmar Szafnauer has insisted that he remains confident in Jack Doohan despite his torrid start to the F2 season.

The 20-year-old Australian currently serves as the reserve driver at Alpine behind Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly while simultaneously competing in the F2 Championship, the main feeder series to F1.

The former Red Bull Junior Team driver was tipped to be a title contender this season driving for the Virtuosi team but has had a terrible season so far and finds himself 12th in the table, 70 points adrift of championship leader Frederik Vesti.

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He did show signs of his pace coming back in Spain recently, leaving Cataluyna with a fifth and a sixth place.

Szafnauer says he has total faith in Doohan and believes he is now getting used to the car properly.

“Jack, at the beginning, he struggled a bit with his car,” the Alpine boss told Speedcafe.

“He wasn’t comfortable in the car and, as of late, that’s changed and it shows in his competitiveness.”

Szafnauer: We're getting Doohan ready for F1

Doohan has long been considered a big prospect in the world of motor racing and that is why he was snapped up by Alpine at the beginning of 2023 to be their reserve driver.

Last season, he finished sixth in the championship winning three of 28 races but has not rediscovered the same form.

Szafnauer is still backing Doohan long-term though and has even spoken about a future in F1.

“We continue to prepare him for Formula 1, and he’s also doing our programme of running a two-year-old Formula 1 car," he continued.

“He’s a good racing driver and works really hard, [he’s] intelligent and he’s got a future ahead of him.”