as a test and reserve driver ahead of the 2026<\/a> season after leaving Alpine at the end of last year, placing him inside a team now considering its driver options for 2027.<\/p>\nHis Jerez run also gave him an opportunity to sample Haas machinery as speculation continues to surround who will partner Oliver Bearman next season.<\/p>\n
Reacting to the test on social media, Doohan described it as an \u201cIncredible feeling to be back behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car,\u201d while also thanking the Haas team for the opportunity.<\/p>\n
Although Haas has not formally announced either of its drivers for 2027, Bearman is expected to remain for a third season while Esteban Ocon\u2019s future remains uncertain.<\/p>\n
Ocon has scored only three of Haas\u2019 21 points this season, with the team using its recent TPC running to assess several alternatives.<\/p>\n
Before the Jerez outing, Haas conducted another test at Portimao involving Ferrari junior Rafael Camara, McLaren reserve Leonardo Fornaroli and Hirakawa.<\/p>\n
Camara is understood to have made a strong impression during that running, while Doohan\u2019s appearance at Jerez has now given Haas another opportunity to evaluate one of its own reserve drivers.<\/p>\n
Team principal Ayao Komatsu said outright pace would remain the central factor when Haas eventually settles on its line-up.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always said we take drivers by performance, so performance comes absolutely first,\u201d Komatsu said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf two drivers have got equal performance, affiliations or the packages they\u2019ve got matter.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we never take somebody who is three tenths slower, but who has got affiliations with Toyota or Ferrari, or got five million more [in sponsorship].<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not going to do that, so it\u2019s all about performance first.\u201d<\/p>\n
Haas has links to both Ferrari and Toyota, while some of the drivers it has evaluated arrive with backing from those manufacturers or from rival teams.<\/p>\n
Doohan does not carry the same manufacturer academy connection as several of the other candidates, but Komatsu indicated those relationships would only become significant if there was little separating drivers on performance.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it\u2019s within tenths for instance \u2013 or very, very close \u2013 then the affiliation package does come into play for sure,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we can choose by performance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Komatsu also dismissed any concern over potentially fielding two Ferrari-affiliated drivers should Bearman remain alongside another driver connected to the Italian manufacturer.<\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly, that doesn\u2019t really matter to me at all,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe really want two fast drivers because that\u2019s the best way to grow this team.\u201d<\/p>\n
A decision is not expected immediately, leaving Doohan and Haas\u2019 other options with time to strengthen their cases.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know. Not next week, shall I say,\u201d Komatsu said when asked about a timeline.<\/p>\n
Formula 1 returns with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix from September 24-26.<\/p>\n
Which F1 seats remain open for 2027?<\/a><\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jack Doohan has had his first taste of a Haas F1 car in a TPC test in Jerez.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":898718,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[64,63,817,813,816,5328,2045,6490,85],"class_list":["post-898717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-haas","tag-jack-doohan","tag-slot3","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/898717","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=898717"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/898717\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/898718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=898717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=898717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=898717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Doohan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/JackDoohanHaasTest.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJack Doohan has had his first taste of a Haas F1 car in a TPC test in Jerez. Image: @jackdooahn Instagram<\/p>\n