As reported by Speedcafe in the moments following Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix, there was a push to install the Australian in the car in place of the Haas-bound Ocon.
That was subsequently confirmed on Monday with Alpine announcing Doohan would step in for Ocon this weekend.
The Frenchman has not always been the most popular member of the team, with his post-race behaviour in Qatar raising eyebrows.
Even prior to that, his clash with team-mate Pierre Gasly in Monaco saw suggestions he would be benched for the Canadian Grand Prix that followed.
Shortly after, and perhaps unsurprisingly, it was announced that he will leave Enstone at the end of the year after five seasons with the squad.
Ocon has a complex management structure shared between Alpine and Mercedes.
In the hours that followed the Qatar Grand Prix, where he’d all but announced his early exit from the team, a series of conversations took place.
Those involved Toto Wolff on behalf of Mercedes, Flavio Briatore for Alpine, and Ayao Komatsu at Haas.
“It’s obviously slightly complex, because as much as he is ours, he’s obviously contractually a Mercedes Junior as well driver,” explained Alpine team boss Oliver Oakes of the situation immediately after the Qatar Grand Prix.
“And obviously he’d like to be released early as well.
“I guess you could say it’s good to get Jack in early,” he added.
“You could say from Esteban’s side, it’s good to move on early.
“I think it suits everybody, so I think the discussion is quite natural, really.
“Honestly, Esteban has been a big part of this team as well and, from both sides, it suits each other.”
Wolff added on Sunday evening: “There’s a contractual relationship that Esteban and we have with Alpine on driver services, and that contract expires at the end of the year.
“And then, if you agree that for the benefit of the future there’s a better solution that allows Esteban to get ready for Haas, if that depends on driving or not in Abu Dhabi, I think this is something which is we discussed today.”
While not uncommon, it’s also not unheard of that teams release drivers early to their new team – Carlos Sainz has been released from Ferrari to join Williams, for instance.
The logic is that it allows the team to begin working with its new driver earlier than it would otherwise, giving it something of a head start heading into the new season.
While in some instances there are reasons that make such a move impossible, Lewis Hamilton would never be released early to drive for Ferrari next Tuesday, most things in F1 are negotiable.
Hence discussion surrounding Ocon centered on finding a solution that was amenable to all parties that would allow him to test with Haas next week.
Those conversations began earlier in the Qatar weekend and carried over after the race, with a solution only agreed upon in the hours that followed the chequered flag.
The solution agreed upon was to allow him to test but have him sit out the final race of the year.
And so, with Ocon benched, the door opened for Doohan.
For the same reasons testing for Haas is of benefit to Ocon for 2025, so too is the early promotion to a race drive for Doohan.
The coming weekend offers a free hit both for the driver and the team, an early chance to learn to work together and blow off some of the rust associated with a year outside of competition.
It is precisely the logic used by Red Bull Racing in replacing Daniel Ricciardo following the Singapore Grand Prix in favour of Liam Lawson.
Joining Alpine in Abu Dhabi will see Doohan drop into a team locked in battle with (ironically) Haas for sixth in the constructors’ championship.
While that was partly a consideration, it wasn’t an overriding concern.
“I don’t think it’s gone into the sort of, let’s say, the last 24 hours of that discussion,” Oakes said of the constructors’ championship battle.
“Obviously, as soon as Esteban announced he was he was off to Haas, I think, obviously you always have the constant sanity check of, ‘what’s the right solution?’
“The constructors’ championship was in the discussion, but it wasn’t the whole subject.
“And I think, really, as you’re all seeing each weekend, it’s a kind of a swing either way, isn’t it? So it’s not like you could plan for either scenario.”
The Australian has experience of the Yas Marina circuit with Alpine, having completed the last two post-season tests with the team in addition to Friday practice sessions.
Doohan will carry #61 into the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, his registered reserve driver number, ahead of switching to #7 when he joins the grid permanently next season.
When he lines up on the grid for Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, he will become only the 16th Australian to have started a world championship grand prix.
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