Jack Doohan isn’t done with Formula 1 yet.

The Aussie young gun has had a turbulent time attempting to crack motorsport’s top tier.

Despite being elevated to F1 for the final race of 2024 with Alpine, for which he had been a long-serving academy and reserve driver, he was turfed just six rounds into his 2025 campaign after months of speculation about his hold on the seat.

Demoted back to the role of reserve driver and denied a chance to reclaim his job, he faded out of the picture at Alpine until agreeing to sever ties at the beginning of this year.

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Now, on the eve of the 2026 season, he’s confirmed a new role as reserve driver for the Haas team in the hope of rebuilding his racing foundations in time to secure a seat in 2027.

A “thrilled” Doohan described the American-owned team as “the ideal place to continue my Formula 1 career”.

“I would like to thank the team for giving me the opportunity to grow and take on the great challenge of 2026 together,” he said. “I’m eager to begin working with the team and collaborating on a successful season.”

Doohan, the son of five-time 500cc motorcycle champion Mick, was known to have spoken to several teams late last year about a reserve role for 2026, though Haas always appeared the most likely option.

But the move was expected to be paired with a full-time season in Japan’s Super Formula, where he was in contention for a drive with the Toyota-backed Kondo Racing team. With Toyota taking a greater involvement in Haas and in particular in its driver program, the alignment between the two teams and categories was clear.

Initially appearing as a deal that was all but done, the plan began to unravel during a test late last year at Suzuka, where Doohan crashed three times at the Degner corners.

This reportedly wasn’t a deal breaker, however, with the Australian still seen as the most likely candidate in the aftermath.

Instead The Race has reported that irreconcilable disagreements over the proposed engineering program for what would have been Doohan’s car led to a collapse in talks. The team announced it had signed two-time race winner Ukyo Sasahara this week.

But the Formula 1 component of Doohan’s plan remained intact, with Haas principal Ayao Komatsu “very excited” for the 23-year-old to join the team “given the strength of his racing resume and of course his experience in being a reserve driver in Formula 1”.

“The dedication required to remain sharp and prepared to race while getting to know how the team works and so on, it’s challenging for any driver — especially one who’s obviously still very keen to race again at this level,” Komatsu said.

“I’ve enjoyed getting to know Jack, and we’re looking forward to welcoming him into the team and benefiting from his contributions.”

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‘KEEN TO RACE AGAIN’

While most of the grid is out of contract at the end of this season, Haas appears to be a particularly good place for Doohan to make his case, with both full-time drivers potentially out of contract this year.

Esteban Ocon is the team’s senior driver. He was signed on a multi-year deal that could expire at the end of the season, his ninth full-time Formula 1 campaign.

Oliver Bearman is a Ferrari development driver who was loaned to Haas for his rookie season last year. He will likely remain in place until a seat opens at Maranello.

Despite a very patchy start, including three crashes at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, Bearman ended his maiden season as the team’s lead driver, having overcome Ocon on every key metric.

The young Englishman outqualified Ocon 13-10 by an average margin of 0.121 seconds, equating to 1.3 places on the grid.

Bearman outraced Ocon too, finishing ahead 11-9, which was worth 1.5 places in the classification. He was the better scoring Haas driver by three points, 41-38.

The Ferrari young gun was particularly impressive in the second half of the year, with the highlight being a fourth place at the Mexico City Grand Prix, in the middle of a five-weekend scoring streak.

It sets up the team for an interesting question on its driver line-up for 2027.

There’s considerable speculation that a bad year for Ferrari could see the team lose Charles Leclerc, who is entering the prime of his racing career but has so far lacked the machinery to make the most of his abilities.

Lewis Hamilton has suggested he has at least another year on his contract, but another anonymous season will likely see rumours about his future ramp up too.

Bearman would be in line to replace either driver in 2027 if he can show this year that he’s ironed the rookie inconsistencies out of his game.

Alternatively, if Bearman were to continue on his trajectory and comprehensively beat Ocon this season, the Frenchman’s hold on his drive could be weakened, creating an opening for Doohan.

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‘THE IDEAL PLACE’

Doohan hasn’t confirmed whether he will undertake a full-time racing program in another series in tandem with his Formula 1 duties. It’s very late in the year to secure a place for 2026.

Haas, however, is likely to keep him busy in his reserve capacity thanks in part to the team’s deepening Toyota connection — and Toyota was reportedly a proponent for the Australian in his Super Formula quest before talks there collapsed.

Toyota and Haas entered a technical partnership in 2024, and that relationship has been expanded into a title sponsorship agreement for 2026, when the team will officially be named TGR Haas and bear significant Toyota Gazoo Racing branding.

Sponsorship from the Japanese marque allowed Haas to run a private testing program for the first time in its history last year, when it was able to run an old car on track for 14 days.

The title sponsorship deal will “accelerate” that work, including by formalising a joint-venture young driver program.

Both these things will be of benefit for Doohan, presumably ensuring that he’ll get a reasonable number of kilometres under his belt, albeit in last year’s Haas car. It will at least allow him to be benchmarked against other young drivers as well as Ocon and Bearman, whose 2025 baseline will be directly comparable.

Haas is also set to open its first simulator later this year, also thanks to its Toyota partnership.

The American-owned team has been entirely reliant on Ferrari’s simulator, but that means it can use the key development tool only when the Italian team doesn’t need it.

Its own simulator is expected to be up and running by the middle of the year, at which point it will become an important part in the Haas development program.

Doohan will presumably be a regular user as the reserve driver.

Most teams have their reserve drivers running parallel practice programs in the simulator during race weekends and overnight on Friday to analyse set-up options. It’s not unusual to hear of a reserve driver working on the simulator through the night and then flying to a European grand prix on Saturday morning ahead of final practice.

Doohan became well acquainted with that lifestyle at Alpine, for which he earnt high praise from management. His simulator work for the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix was credited for what could have been a double points finish had Ocon and Pierre Gasly not crashed into each other on the opening lap.

With the pace of development expected to be ferocious in 2026, the first season under new rules, Doohan’s role could end up being critical to Haas’s results, with the team anticipating another tight scrap in the midfield.

Doohan having a strong, positive influence on the team could be convincing in his bid for a drive in 2027, much as it did at Alpine ahead of 2025.

Uncertain, though, is how much time Doohan will get in the 2026 car.

The Australian will share reserve duties with Toyota driver Ryō Hirakawa, the two-time World Endurance Champion and winner of the 2022 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Toyota.

Hirakawa entered four FP1 sessions with Haas last year, acquitting the requirement for each team to commit two practice sessions per car to an inexperienced driver.

An inexperienced driver is defined as someone who has entered no more than two championship races.

Hirakawa, having never raced in Formula 1, continues to qualify, but Doohan’s seven races for Alpine rule him out.

Haas could still use him in a practice session, but it would come on top of the mandatory four outings that will be taken by Hirakawa or another young driver.

Second chances in Formula 1 are rare, and much will have to go Doohan’s way for him to succeed in his mission to return to the grid, but if he’s to pull it off, Haas could be the right place.