{"id":387374,"date":"2026-01-02T18:44:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T18:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/387374\/"},"modified":"2026-01-02T18:44:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T18:44:08","slug":"toyota-support-could-revive-chances-of-f1-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/387374\/","title":{"rendered":"Toyota support could revive chances of F1 return"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jack Doohan was the first casualty in last year\u2019s driver market, losing his Alpine seat to Franco Colapinto after the Miami GP. Despite lingering hopes of a second stint at the French squad, it soon became clear that Doohan was not part of the team\u2019s future plans.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead to the 2026 season, Doohan is working to position himself to capitalise on any openings on the grid.<\/p>\n

According to recent reports, the Australian has recently been favoured by Toyota.<\/a> Recently confirmed as Haas\u2019 title sponsors, Toyota collaborate closely with the US team and will have some influence in their driver line-ups.<\/p>\n

With this in mind, Doohan\u2019s new-found ties with Toyota are something to watch over the next twelve months. Depending on how the market evolves, the 22-year-old could be in important conversations about racing in 2027.<\/p>\n

\"\"Jack Doohan driving the (7) Alpine F1 A525 Renault in Bahrain. (Photo by Mark Thompson\/Getty Images)
\nDoohan reportedly being considered for Haas reserve role<\/p>\n

Almost every driver on the grid is currently on an expiring contract. Only a handful of drivers (Norris, Piastri, Verstappen<\/a>, Leclerc) have agreements that go beyond the end of 2026.<\/p>\n

Even in these cases, exit clauses mean they could be active players in this year\u2019s driver market. Elsewhere, both Haas drivers \u2013 Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon \u2013 are also on the final year of their deals.<\/p>\n

For various reasons, neither driver is guaranteed to continue with Haas<\/a> in 2027.<\/p>\n

Bearman, for example, hugely impressed the paddock with his rookie campaign. The British driver outperformed his more experienced teammate in every metric, enjoying a particularly strong end to the season.<\/p>\n

Because of this, the 20-year-old has been named as a candidate to join Ferrari in 2027. As one of the Scuderia\u2019s junior drivers, joining the Maranello squad would be a natural step forward in his career.<\/p>\n

Of course, there is no guarantee this will happen. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton are certain to have a say in their futures with Ferrari. Then again, if Ferrari<\/a> fail to deliver a title-winning car, it is plausible that at least one of these drivers could leave the team.<\/p>\n

In this scenario, Bearman could be the main beneficiary and earn a promotion. On the opposite side of the garage, Esteban Ocon is in a more precarious position than he might have anticipated when he first joined Haas.<\/p>\n

Simply put, the Frenchman\u2019s seat could be at risk is his younger teammate outperforms him once again. His market value would plummet, and Haas (who are understood to have spoken with Yuki Tsunoda<\/a> in early 2024 before signing Ocon) could look for alternatives.<\/p>\n

With all this in mind, PlanetF1\u2019s reports<\/a> that Jack Doohan is being considered for a Haas reserve role are significant.<\/p>\n

Should the Australian become Haas reserve, particularly if endorsed by Toyota, he will be a relevant player in the market.<\/p>\n

\"\"Jack Doohan, Alpine F1 Media Gallery.
\nA year of opportunities<\/p>\n

Looking to the next twelve months, many contract announcements and decisions can be expected across the field. Not only are most drivers on expiring deals, but the pecking order could change drastically compared to last season.<\/p>\n

This means not only Doohan, but several drivers looking for a spot<\/a> on the grid will be active in conversations across the paddock.<\/p>\n

Within weeks of the season opener in Australia, as the performance levels of different teams emerge, the first indications of where the wind is blowing will emerge. Once this happens, the wheels of the driver market will inevitably begin to turn.<\/p>\n

For someone like Doohan, 2026 could be the final opportunity to plot a course back into Formula 1. This means that conversations, if they are not happening already, can be expected to intensify over the course of the year.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Mercedes \u201con track\u201d to meet 2026 targets \u2013 Toto Wolff<\/a><\/p>\n

Main photo: Alpine F1 Media Gallery<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jack Doohan was the first casualty in last year\u2019s driver market, losing his Alpine seat to Franco Colapinto…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":387375,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[64,63,207756,191992,5328,806,805,803,804,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-387374","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-motosport","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-doohan","11":"tag-f1-2026-season","12":"tag-haas","13":"tag-motor","14":"tag-motor-sports","15":"tag-motosport","16":"tag-motosports","17":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=387374"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387374\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/387375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=387374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=387374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=387374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}