Jack Doohan has revealed that he spent much of the post-season test in Abu Dhabi evaluating test items for Alpine.
The Australian took the wheel of the A523 in Yas Marina for the end-of-year hit out, logging 108 laps across almost eight hours of running.
His outing came just days after completing Free Practice 1 in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, having also taken part in opening practice at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
Combined with the experience he gained running to the same programme a year ago, it saw Alpine trust the 20-year-old with a more meaningful test programme.
“Slightly different than last year – last year I was fairly new to Formula 1 and the whole circus, so last year was more of a normal rookie test, and just running through the motions,” Doohan explained.
“This test was proper test items. Very excruciating and intense.
“I think I didn’t do my first sort of solo fast timed lap till 45 minutes before the end of the day.
“It was mainly seven and 10 lap runs and some big swings.
“So it was great for them to have the confidence in me to do that.”
Running the car on Friday and again on Tuesday allowed Doohan to feel the development in car set-up and track progression.
Following his 60-minute outing in opening practice, Esteban Ocon returned to the cockpit and the team continued to fine-tune its handling and balance.
Track evolution following three days of F1 and F2 cars running left a different impression on the F2 race winner.
“At the moment, I seem to be, over a lap, very close to both of the main drivers, and I think it’s going to come down to just extracting that last half-tenth,” he said.
“Whether it’s working with the tyre guys or aero guys to really try to maximize little things, especially in tyre prep, tyre warm up.
“We know, especially something that’s different than what I’m used to with the Formula 2, I can have a snap lose the rear into Turn 9, and I know I’ll lose a little bit of rear potential but not massively.
“In the Formula 1 car, you scrub the front a few degrees too much through Turn 9, and Turn 13 and 14, you lose two and a half, three tenths and the lap’s completely done.
“So it’s really working through this, trying to justify to myself with a two-hundredths, three-hundredths gain in Turn 9 is [not] worth the two-tenths loss.”
Doohan is yet to have his 2024 programme locked in, and looks set to spend a year on the sidelines while working through a testing schedule with Alpine’s 2022 car.
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