The Alpine reserve driver will sit a year out of competition this season as he focuses his efforts on helping Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon.

It’s Doohan’s second year in the role and leaves him well-positioned heading in to 2025.

The silly season for next season is especially fluid with eight teams boasting at least one available seat.

That includes Alpine, where both Gasly and Ocon are out of contract. As the market moves, that could create a berth at Enstone.

“I think there’s going to be a lot of opportunities,” Doohan told Speedcafe.

“it’d be great obviously to continue with Alpine in what that is, but I want to be a race driver.

“I want to get in the seat and I know I’ll be able to perform as well.”

While not racing this season, Doohan will enjoy seat time in a 2022-spec Alpine throughout the coming year.

Earlier this week, he was in action at Barcelona in the team’s 2021 car, the first of 10 scheduled days of running.

That programme is designed to build his experience base and ease the transition into a race seat while keeping him sharp behind the wheel.

Though not confirmed, he’s also expected to get behind the wheel during Free Practice 1 on two occasions in 2024, as he has done in Mexico City and Abu Dhabi for the past two seasons.

“The FP1 running at the end of last year… we were just over half a tenth away from Pierre,” he noted.

“I’m confident that if I have to be put in the car that I can do the job.”

Time is ticking away, however, with a new wave of young drivers making their way through the junior formulae.

Alpine has Victor Martins, Kush Maini, Nikola Tsolov, and Gabriele Mini within its Academy nipping at Doohan’s heels.

The window for the Australian to realistically make the grid is, therefore, narrow.

“It’s just reality as well and you have to be realistic,” Doohan noted of his F1 chances.

“I’m 21 now, so definitely not too old, but I want to be in the car.”

Doohan has also ramped up his physical preparation and will take part in a number of triathlons during the year.