The Formula 1 rumour mill is spinning like wheels on a track this week after multiple reports that Alpine driver Esteban Ocon will give up his seat for the final race of the 2024 F1 season so that he can start postseason testing with Haas, the team he signed a deal with earlier in 2024. As a result, 21-year-old Aussie driver Jack Doohan is believed to be replacing him for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Although Doohan had been a reserve driver for Alpine since 2023, he was promoted to a full-time seat for the American team for the 2025 season back in August alongside Pierre Gasley. Now, with Ocon reportedly stepping aside early, F1 fanatics believe that it’ll be a good chance to see what the Aussie young gun can do.
While the move hasn’t been officially confirmed by Alpine, team principal Oli Oakes hinted at it and confirmed that discussions had taken place between Alpine’s executive advisor Flavio Briatora and Mercedes team principal and noted daddy Toto Wolf.
“I guess you could say it’s good to get Jack in early,” Oakes said, via The Athletic.
“I think you could say from Esteban’s side it’s good to move on early. I think it suits everybody. The discussion was quite natural, really. Esteban has been a big part of this team as well. From both sides, it suits each other.”
So, who is F1’s latest Aussie, Jack Doohan?
Jack Doohan is a 21-year-old from the Gold Coast, Queensland. He is also an Aquarius, in case you were wondering.
He’s the son of five-time Moto GP World Champion Mick Doohan, so the zoomies were in his blood. He started kart racing when he was only nine years old in a go-kart given to him by Michael Schumacher. He won multiple national titles for karting. In 2018, he began his career in the F4 before quickly climbing up the racing ranks. In 2021, he was the F3 runner up and in 2023, he came third in the F2.
Now that he’s landed an extremely coveted seat in the F1, he has officially become the first graduate of the Alpine Academy to land a full-time race seat in the F1 for the team. Previously, fellow Aussie driver Oscar Piastri was in the Alpine Academy, but he left in 2022 to land a spot with McLaren. You can’t blame a king for following his dreams, can you?
While I still mourn the loss of Daniel Ricciardo on the paddock (yes, it was time, but no one has even come close to replacing his je ne sais quoi) I’m stoked that we’ll have two Aussies zooming around. Not too shabby, hey?
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