Who is Jack Doohan? Australia's young star set to join Alpine F1 in 2025

Doohan as reserve driver of Alpine — Photo: © IMAGO

Jack Doohan

Who is Jack Doohan? Australia's young star set to join Alpine F1 in 2025

Alpine F1 team confirms Jack Doohan as Esteban Ocon's replacement for the 2025 season

Yara Elshebiny

Friday 23 August 2024 23:00

Alpine F1 team have confirmed that Jack Doohan will be promoted from reserve driver to a full-time spot on the grid for 2025 and beyond.

The Enstone-based squad have been in a state of flux, with the latest shake-up seeing the exit of team principal Bruno Famin and the appointment of Oliver Oakes as his successor. As the dust settles on this managerial upheaval, Alpine have now finalized its driver roster for next season.

After missing out on Carlos Sainz, who decided to join Williams next season, Alpine have opted to promote from within, handing Doohan his big break.

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The young Australian will replace the departing Esteban Ocon and team up with Pierre Gasly, who recently signed a contract extension with the team.

Jack Doohan - Early life and career

His journey began in karting, where he quickly established himself as a force to be reckoned with. He was crowned KA Junior champion of the Australian Kart Championships in 2015 and won the KA2 classification in 2016, but these were only the first steps on a ladder that would eventually lead to F1.

A subsequent move to Europe proved fruitful, with a third-place finish in the CIK-FIA European Championship in 2017 and a strong performance in British Formula 4 in 2018 where he finished as first placed rookie and fifth overall.

Asia then became the next proving ground for the young Australian where he secured five race wins, three podium finishes and a second place in the F3 Asian Championship in 2019 for Hitech Grand Prix, before returning to Europe with Double R Racing and securing two podiums and 11th place overall in the Euroformula Open Championship.

Doohan returned to the F3 Asian Championship in 2020, this time with Pinnacle Motorsport, and once again finished in the runner-up spot after missing out on the title due to technical failures.

Jack Doohan is Alpine's reserve driver in 2024, having stepped into the role at the beginning of the 2023 season

The FIA Formula 3 Championship followed, presenting a more challenging environment in which he struggled to secure points for HWA Racelab during the campaign.

However, in 2021, Doohan stepped up to Trident for his second F3 season and delivered a championship-contending performance. His four race victories and seven podium finishes secured him second place overall while propelling Trident to the team's title.

This impressive performance earned him a Formula 2 opportunity with MP Motorsport in the final two rounds of the 2021 season, where he achieved a top five finish and second in qualifying.

Building on his F3 success, Doohan secured a full-time F2 seat with Virtuosi Racing in 2022, adding three more wins to his tally. That same year, he transitioned from Red Bull Junior Team, where he had been since 2017, to the Alpine Academy, before stepping up as the French outfit's reserve in 2023.

Balancing his F1 duties with a full F2 campaign for Invicta Virtuosi Racing, Doohan secured a strong third place overall, thanks to his two race wins and five podium finishes.

Having fully immersed himself in the Alpine team in 2024, Doohan is now poised to take the next step in his career - a full-time F1 seat in 2025, where he will become the third Australian on the grid joining RB's Daniel Ricciardo and McLaren's Oscar Piastri.

Carlos Sainz Williams Esteban Ocon Pierre Gasly Jack Doohan Bruno Famin