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Jack Doohan has a future with the Alpine Formula 1 team, according to Otmar Szafnauer.
Doohan is the leading light in the French marque’s academy system, with three Formula 2 race wins to his name this season.
The 19-year-old’s position within the broader Alpine Academy, and even the Formula 1 team, have hit the headlines in recent weeks given the impending departure of Oscar Piastri.
Exactly what that looks like, Team Principal Szafnauer confessed was still unclear, though he was certain Doohan would feature going forward.
“We haven’t quite decided that,” he admitted when asked where Doohan fits in following the signing of Pierre Gasly.
“But Jack is part of our programme and he’s close to the team.
“There’ll be a future for Jack with the team and that will soon be soon be sorted.”
He was thrust into the limelight as a by-product of the Piastri saga which saw the Melburnian sign with McLaren for 2023 and 2024.
For a time, Doohan was considered an outside chance at landing the race seat alongside Esteban Ocon for next year.
However, it was an open secret that Alpine was chasing Gasly for the drive, confirming his signing over the course of the Japanese Grand Prix last weekend.
Speedcafe.com understands the deal was signed a week earlier in Singapore.
The arrival of Gasly both resolves and creates an issue for the team.
In need of a driver following the departure of Fernando Alonso and Piastri, Gasly brings with him a handy blend of youth and experience.
On a multi-year deal, Alpine also has a degree of stability among its driving ranks, with Ocon also locked away until the end of 2024.
That creates something of a roadblock for Doohan, who most agree would benefit from another season in Formula 2.
Should he continue to flourish as he has done in recent events, he will be ready to make the final step for 2024.
It, therefore, leaves Alpine in a situation not dissimilar to that it faced with Piastri, with a driver ready to graduate to Formula 1 but no available seats with the factory team.
Renault (Alpine’s parent company and also its power unit supplier) does not have a customer team on the grid it can leverage.
That is not necessarily a deal breaker, as evidenced by the agreement struck with Williams for Piastri back in May.
In that instance, the Australian would have competed for Williams in 2023, and potentially 2024, before a guaranteed seat with Alpine for 2025 as part of a four-year deal.
Piastri was not interested in that solution and took matters into his own hands.
Applying that model to Doohan could see him placed at the Grove squad for his inaugural season in 2024 until a drive at Alpine opens the following year.
“Now that secured both drivers for next year and the year after, we’ll start thinking more seriously of our young driver program and what to do there,” Szafnauer said when asked if that solution was an option.
“But Jack’s immediate focus needs to be on winning the F2 championship next year and we’ll support him through that process and help them along the way and give him some time in a car as well to prepare him for Formula 1.
“But we’ll start looking at that now that we’ve gotten through this step.”
Williams has Alex Albon on a multi-year deal starting from 2023 and is yet to confirm who will replace Nicholas Latifi alongside him.
Mick Schumacher and Logan Sargeant are the front runners, with a one-year deal likely for either.
That could see a seat free at Williams for 2024, though it’s not the only possibility.
Lewis Hamilton is out of contract at the end of next season and while he has made suggestions he will continue there is no guarantee until a contract is signed.
Should he opt not to carry on, Mercedes will be able to control the driver market, with Albon a likely candidate.
That would free up a seat at Williams irrespective of what happens in the medium-term future to that currently occupied by Latifi.
Given Piastri’s decision to leave the team at the end of the season, it’s probable Doohan will be slotted in as Reserve Driver and is the likely candidate for Free Practice 1 outings later this year.
All teams must feature a rookie driver during two Free Practice 1 sessions over the course of the season. Alpine has not done so as yet, with the end of the season now just four races away.
For all Alpine’s best intentions, and the promise Doohan has displayed, his fate is ultimately in the hands of the Formula 1 Gods.
Making it to Formula 1 is more than talent, results, and connections, it is a case of timing too, and being in the right place at the right time.
The risk for Doohan is he is in the right place at the wrong time.
