Jack Doohan\u2019s demotion at Alpine from race driver to reserve was a shock to his system, but also a reset in his thinking as Formula 1 is no longer his \u201cbe-all and end-all\u201d.<\/p>\n
That, though, doesn\u2019t mean he doesn\u2019t want to be back on the grid, either with his new team Haas or another F1 team, as that would be \u201camazing\u201d.<\/p>\n
Jack Doohan opens up on Alpine demotion and F1 future<\/p>\n
Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google<\/a> to your favourites list for news you can trust<\/p>\n Third in the 2023 Formula 2 championship, Doohan spent the 2024 season on the sidelines as an Alpine reserve driver.<\/p>\n He was announced in August that year as an Alpine<\/a> F1 driver for the F1 2025 championship, but almost from the get-go there were whispers that his seat wasn\u2019t as secure as his contract implied.<\/p>\n Doohan ignored the speculation and prepared for his debut F1 campaign, and was even given a one-off outing at the final race of the 2024 season when he replaced the Haas-bound Esteban Ocon in Abu Dhabi.<\/p>\n The Australian brought the car home in 15th place on a weekend in which he didn\u2019t set the stage alight, but he also didn\u2019t crash.<\/p>\n Doohan took his place in the class of 2025 photographs at the Australian Grand Prix, suited and booted for what he thought would be his first full season in the sport. Alas, after six race weekends, his time on the grid was cut short.<\/p>\n Alpine de facto leader Flavio Briatore made the call to replace Doohan with Franco Colapinto, with the Argentine in a five-race audition for the seat. But while Colapinto didn\u2019t score a single point, Briatore kept faith with him.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was obviously strange times,\u201d Doohan told Fox Sports\u2019 Pit Talk podcast. \u201cIt was a weird 12 months of achieving that dream, having a three-year contract \u2014 you\u2019re never secure.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re still an employee at the end of the day, even as a race driver. You\u2019re still under contract. <\/p>\n \u201cBut I thought I was in a strong position, even with the noise that was going around and the press.<\/p>\n \u201cI was head down and trying to do my job, although it does affect you in some ways, especially as it goes on.<\/p>\n \u201cI was quite content, and then it was quite a shock to the system.\u201d<\/p>\n And throughout Colapinto\u2019s audition, Doohan says he was given hope by Alpine that he could be back in the car. <\/p>\n The media reported deadlines of five races, the summer break, potentially the final races of the season, but it never happened.<\/p>\n Doohan said the realisation that it wouldn\u2019t come true came to him after the summer break.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a little bit of a difficult path, but there was in some ways, without going in too deep into it, always a bit of a carrot,\u201d Doohan said. <\/p>\n \u201cI was presented with opportunities of new possibilities in increments, so it never felt like it [a comeback] was so far away \u2014 at least that\u2019s how it was at the start.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was more around Zandvoort time, so the end of the summer break, August, when I realised I wasn\u2019t going to be hopping back in the car for that season and really had to see where the next steps were going to take me.\u201d<\/p>\n He went on to join Haas as its reserve driver for the F1 2026 season, but racing is his goal.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s quite important in the job title, certainly \u2014 being a racing driver and then actually racing!\u201d he said with a laugh.<\/p>\n \u201cOtherwise you\u2019re just simply a reserve driver. You can\u2019t classify yourself as a racing driver if you\u2019re not racing.\u201d<\/p>\n F1 is no longer Jack Doohan\u2019s \u2018be-all and end-all\u2019<\/p>\n The Aussie is now racing for Nielsen Racing in the European Le Mans Series, dovetailing that programme with his Haas F1 commitments.<\/p>\n Although Doohan wants to return to the Formula 1 grid, that\u2019s not everything for the 23-year-old who finished 32nd overall at the recent 24 Hours of Le Mans.<\/p>\n How the F1 2027 driver line-up is taking shape<\/p>\n F1 2027 driver line-up: Which drivers are already confirmed for the 2027 grid?<\/a><\/p>\n F1 driver contracts: What is the contract status of every driver on the F1 2026 grid?<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s certainly a little bit different,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to explain, but I\u2019m not, let\u2019s say trying to force anything.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously it\u2019s a slightly different position to what I have been before, where it was obviously pre [having] race experience and you\u2019re in that junior driver category and you\u2019re really preaching and trying to get that opportunity.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are opportunities that will come into my control that, in order to be in my control, are a little bit outside my control, if that makes sense.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m just focusing exactly on what\u2019s in my control, which is doing my best when I\u2019m trackside, opportunities inside the car when they come, and apart from that, I\u2019m not really over-analysing the outside noise that covers so much of what we do.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I managed to get back into a car, that would be amazing, but I know there are a lot more things than normal that are playing as a factor.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not locking too down. I think there is a good opportunity, but I\u2019m not in the same place [as last year] where it\u2019s the be-all and end-all.\u201d<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n