Jack Doohan has been retained by the Alpine Academy for 2023

Jack Doohan believes he has “a great group of people” around him that can help propel him to his goal of the F2 championship this season.

Doohan spearheads a renewed Alpine Academy line-up for 2023 as he embarks on his second season with the programme after switching from Red Bull’s counterpart a year ago.

The 20-year-old from the Gold Coast finished sixth in his rookie F2 campaign last year, claiming three wins, six additional podiums and three pole positions with Virtuosi Racing.

Doohan, son of five-time MotoGP champion Mick, has been retained by Virtuosi and will go up against fellow Alpine Academy member Victor Martins who takes part in his maiden F2 season with ART Grand Prix after winning the F3 title last year.

“I’m very excited to be going into my second season with the Alpine Academy,” said Doohan, took part in two FP1 outings for the Alpine F1 Team last season, as well as participating in the post-Abu Dhabi young driver test.

“Last year was a great first one together and I was welcomed very well by everyone, and I found my feet quickly at the team.

“It was great to branch out to the Formula 1 team at times, like at the private tests and on the simulator, and get to know people at the factory and on the race team.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what we can achieve this year. The targets remain the same – to win the championship – and I have a great group of people around me to help reach the targets.

“I’ll do my best to act as a senior member of the programme and help some of the younger and new drivers on the Academy, especially at our training camps.”

Doohan part of eight-strong Academy

Alpine has expanded its Academy to now include eight members.

Alongside Doohan and Martins, Gabriele Mini and Nikola Tsolov have signed with the Academy and will compete in F3 with Hitech and ART Grand Prix respectively, with the latter graduating from the Affiliates programme.

Abbi Pulling, Matheus Ferreira and Kean Nakamura also join Tsolov in becoming fully-fledged Academy drivers with Aiden Neate joining as the third new member of the programme.

Pulling will compete in the new-for-2023 F1 Academy Series, while Ferreira embarks on his debut season in single-seaters in the Italian Formula 4 Championship.

Neate’s plans are due to be confirmed in due course on the back of competing in the UAE F4 Championship, with Kean remaining in karting.

Alpine CEO Laurent said: “The Alpine Academy has been strengthened and expanded for 2023 as it remains a seminal part of Alpine Racing’s ambitions in motorsport.

“While Formula 1 remains the pinnacle, we have adopted a fresh approach to the Academy this year to expand opportunities under the Alpine umbrella where we have a presence across many motorsport disciplines.

“We are dedicated to progressing drivers through the racing ranks to open up a greater talent pool across our racing teams.

“Of course, ultimately, the best talent have ambitions of reaching Formula 1 and that remains the objective, but by expanding our vision we will create opportunities to identify, nurture and help our young drivers become accomplished racing drivers who will represent the Alpine brand on a global scale.

“I’m excited to see what the 2023 drivers can achieve, and I look forward to following their respective seasons very closely.”