Doohan heads into this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix as one of six rookies on the grid.
He’s joined Pierre Gasly at Alpine for the forthcoming campaign after being promoted from the squad’s reserve driver.
The Australian made his F1 race debut in Abu Dhabi at the end of the year and is excited to kick off his first full-time season on home soil.
“I cannot wait to kick off the 2025 Formula 1 season and doing it on home turf in Australia makes it even more special,” he said.
“Starting my full-time rookie season in Albert Park is a dream come true and the support from the fans will be incredible so I will be soaking up every moment.
“I have worked so hard for this opportunity, now it is about working closely with the team and ensuring I extract the absolute maximum from the car.”
Doohan has only raced in Albert Park once, in Formula 2 in 2023, the first year the F1 feeder categories visited Australia.
As revealed by Speedcafe, there have been subtle changes to the track since then, most notably at Turn 6 where the exit kerb has been reprofiled to avoid the heavy crashes that have marred the last two events.
“Albert Park is a tricky circuit, it is part street track, part permanent circuit, which makes it unique,” Doohan noted.
“The surface can be slippery, and getting into a rhythm early is key.”
Doohan heads to Melbourne off the back of a promising pre-season test for Alpine.
The A525 the squad will race this year is an evolution of last year’s car and utilises the same tub as the A524.
It proved reliable and capable in the hands of both Doohan and Gasly in Bahrain last month given rise to suggestions the Enstone operation could be the fifth-fastest team this season.
“A strong start to the season is always important, so I am hoping we can put everything together and kick things off the right way,” Doohan said.
“It is hard to predict exactly where we will be in terms of performance until we get out on track in Melbourne, but our goal is to optimise every aspect of the car and put ourselves in the best possible position.”
Opening practice for the Australian Grand Prix begins on Friday at 12:30 local time.
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