Alpine boss Otmar Szafnauer has reaffirmed his support of Australian youngster Jack Doohan.
Currently competing in Formula 2 with Virtuosi, Doohan has endured a torrid start to the 2023 season.
He finally found form in Monaco after the team discovered issues with his Dallara car that had been blighting his progress in the opening rounds.
A mistake in the Principality, Doohan claims, cost him pole position before he crashed out of the weekend’s Feature encounter.
However, there was an upward trend in comparison to the earlier part of the campaign, which continued into Spain a week later.
There, Doohan qualified third and banked to points-paying positions.
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“Jack, at the beginning, he struggled a bit with his car,” Szafnauer explained when asked about Doohan’s season by Speedcafe.
“He wasn’t comfortable in the car and, as of late, that’s changed and it shows in his competitiveness.”
Doohan had been tasked with winning the Formula 2 championship this season.
While that task remains a possibility, the degree of difficulty has been ramped up.
After six rounds, the 20-year-old sits 12th in the standings with 40 points, while Frederik Vesti heads the competition with 110 points.
Seven rounds remain in this year’s season.
Though the task has become more difficult, Alpine still supports Doohan, the F1 operation’s official reserve driver.
“We look forward to him competing at the front now that he’s a bit more comfortable in the car,” Szafnauer said.
“We continue to prepare him for Formula 1, and he’s also doing our programme of running a two-year-old Formula 1 car.
“He’s a good racing driver and works really hard, [he’s] intelligent and he’s got a future ahead of him.”
Formula 2 is back in action alongside the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring on June 30-July 2.
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