The next personnel news at Alpine: Jack Doohan will replace regular driver Esteban Ocon in the first free practice session of the Canadian GP this weekend. The French factory team will thus fulfill the first of two mandatory appearances by a rookie driver in an FP1 session in the 2024 season.
For Doohan, this is already the fifth time he has taken part in a first free practice session in Formula 1. The Australian already took part in the two mandatory rookie training sessions for the Renault factory team in 2022 and 2023. In these two years, Doohan also took the wheel for Alpine during the post-season test drives in Abu Dhabi.
Doohan: Training to the regular cockpit in 2025?
Doohan’s training session comes just days after Alpine officially announced Esteban Ocon’s departure at the end of 2024. Previously, Ocon had been at the last race in Monaco with teammate Pierre Gasly collided, after which team boss Bruno Famin announced consequences.
At times there was even talk of Ocon taking a temporary break in favour of Doohan, as Christian Danner had called for in the ‘AvD Motorsport Magazine’. This will not happen in Canada, but Doohan is still considered a candidate for the vacant Ocon cockpit in 2025. With good training performances, the 21-year-old, currently reserve and simulator driver at Alpine, could recommend himself for a promotion.
Training at Alpine much earlier than in previous years
What is striking compared to previous years is at least the timing of Doohan’s deployment. In 2022 and 2023, Alpine, like many other Formula 1 teams, only fulfilled its rookie obligations towards the end of the year. Doohan only took part in his training sessions at the race weekend in Mexico and at the season finale in Abu Dhabi, where the Alpine cockpits for the following year had long been occupied. Doohan’s training session at the ninth race weekend in Canada in 2024 will therefore take place at a much more volatile time in terms of the driver market.
But the training could be relevant not only for a possible 2025 cockpit: Doohan also hopes to benefit from the time on the track during his simulator work at the upcoming European races. “I am very grateful to the team for giving me the opportunity for more driving time and to familiarize myself with the 2024 car early in the season,” Doohan was quoted as saying in a press release from the team.
Doohan, son of motorcycle legend Mick Doohan, has been part of Alpine’s junior squad since 2022. Before that, he was part of Red Bull’s junior academy. In the past two years, Doohan competed in Formula 2 and finished sixth and third overall. However, he was never seriously in the title fight. Unlike other former Formula 2 drivers such as reigning champion Theo Pourchaire or Red Bull junior Ayumu Iwasa, Doohan decided against a racing program in another series this year. Instead, Doohan is fully focused on his reserve role at Alpine.
In addition to Doohan, there are a number of other talented young drivers who are currently racing in Formula 2. These include Mercedes super talent Andrea Kimi Antonelli. He completed a private test in Silverstone in mid-May, where Antonelli was also on the track with Mick Schumacher and regular driver George Russell. According to the Silver Arrows, however, this was not a shootout for the vacant Mercedes cockpit. You can read all the details in this article: