Australian Formula 2 racer Jack Doohan believes he is ready to step up to Formula 1 should an opportunity present itself.
A two-time F2 race winner this season, his first in the F1 feeder class, Doohan sits ninth in the championship with four weekends of racing remaining.
The 19-year-old is part of the Alpine Academy, the same programme which funded Oscar Piastri through the latter stages of his junior formulae career.
Doohan has already sampled a 2021-spec Formula 1 machine, logging laps at Qatar in May and a further outing at Monza a month later.
He is, behind Piastri, the most senior member of the Academy and would logically step into the reserve driver/Free Practice 1 role should his countryman leave the Enstone squad.
That is a distinct possibility given Piastri is understood to have signed with McLaren for 2023 where he’ll replace Daniel Ricciardo.
There’s also an outside chance, admittedly an extremely slim one, that Doohan could be promoted to Alpine’s now-vacant Formula 1 race seat for 2023.
“I think it would be very difficult to turn down the opportunity, no matter what,” Doohan said when asked by Speedcafe.com if he was ready to step up.
“Luckily, I’ve had the opportunity to be able to have a little bit of experience.
“It definitely helped [having some time in an F1 car] rather than none, however, there’d still be a lot of learning, a lot of in-depth study to be able to make sure I was up to par with what would be needed to do that.”
Doohan’s comments were made on the Thursday prior to the Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix, after which Fernando Alonso announced his departure from Alpine.
That has set off a chain reaction, with the Enstone operation announcing Piastri as the Spaniard’s replacement a day later, only for that to be refuted.
Earlier this week, Speedcafe.com reported that negotiations that will see Ricciardo make way for Piastri at McLaren have begun, with an settlement negotiations beginning at USD $21 million.
Ricciardo has been linked with a number of drives next season, with a return to Alpine (for whom he drove when known as Renault) thought the most likely.
A single year, or potentially a two-year deal, could leave Doohan well placed to then graduate to Formula 1 at the conclusion of that contract.