Jack Doohan is working to gain experience within the Alpine Formula 1 team ahead of an anticipated promotion into the role currently performed by Oscar Piastri.
Piastri will join McLaren for his F1 debut next season following a protracted and messy separation between the Australian and the Enstone-based squad.
Both Piastri and Doohan are members of the Alpine Academy, with the latter second in line behind his countryman in that system.
Formula 1 teams are highly secretive and will in all probability be working to limit what information departing staff members have access to.
Daniel Ricciardo has confirmed that process has begun for him at McLaren. It is reasonable to suggest the same has taken place within Alpine for Piastri.
Doohan is therefore well-placed to pick up some of the responsibilities the team no longer wishes to offer his countryman.
In recent events, he has been seen in the Alpine F1 garage during sessions.
“I’m honestly just trying to learn as much as I possibly can,” he said when asked about his role by Speedcafe.com.
“It’s a good opportunity to be able to use and I can sit there, I can be reading data and analysing through the session with the two cars and listening in on their debriefs and their analysis.
“Anything I can use to help me, potentially, in Formula 2 when we have these opportunities, I will take.”
Doohan is an outside option for the squad when it comes to filling its vacant Formula 1 drive alongside Esteban Ocon next season.
More likely however is that Pierre Gasly will join the Anglo-French operation in place of the Aston Martin-bound Fernando Alonso.
That is predicated on a release from Red Bull, which has placed him at Scuderia AlphaTauri, given he has a contract with the Austrian brand until the end of 2023.
It’s understood Helmut Marko, motorsport advisor for Red Bull, has held discussions with Nyck de Vries about a deal for next season, slotting into the car currently filled by Gasly.
The arrival of de Vries alongside Yuki Tsunoda would free Gasly to switch to Alpine, as was originally intended.
That in turn will likely necessitate at least another season of Formula 2 for Doohan and an elevation to the reserve driver role.
Indeed, that is likely to occur before the end of the current season but is yet to be formally discussed.
“Obviously, currently Oscar is still signed to Alpine for the season, and he’s still a reserve driver, currently for them,” explained Doohan when asked by Speedcafe.com what the situation within Alpine currently is.
“Before I think anything would be proposed to me, they need to sort out what’s going on with him, and what is the best thing to put in place for themselves going forward.
“Honestly, there’s not much more I can say,” he added.
“I would love to tell you more but at the moment they’re letting me focus on Formula 2 and letting the results do the talking.
“Hopefully we can see what we can do in the off time before Abu Dhabi, but not much more I can say at the moment.”
The Australian sits fourth in what is his maiden full-time campaign in the F1 feeder category, with three wins to his name already in 2022.
Felipe Drugovich has already mathematically confirmed himself as champion, the Brazilian signing on to be reserve driver at Aston Martin.
The final round of the Formula 2 Championship coincides with the Formula 1 finale in Abu Dhabi on November 18-20.
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