Jack Doohan, a first in Formula 1 full of emotions

It was with a big smile on his face that Jack Doohan went to the mixed zone on Friday, after the first day of testing in Mexico. The Australian had just participated in his very first official session in Formula 1, during EL1 of the Mexico Grand Prix with Alpine. Promoted to reserve driver of the French team this summer, direct consequence of the affair Piastres, the young 19-year-old driver was able to taste the joys of a 1 version of F2022.

And the least we can say is that he appreciated it. “It was very cool, confided Jack Doohan, who first wanted to thank his team. I just obviously have to say a huge thank you to Alpine for giving me this opportunity. This is something I will forever cherish and remember. Obviously we had a little problem after the first run that stopped us from continuing, but I'm still very grateful for the laps I did and it was an incredible experience.", he added, not without emotion. “Once I was in the car there was obviously a bit of emotion, but I'm pretty happy with my preparation. I knew this opportunity was coming for a while and it gave me room to prepare. So it wasn't a shock, and I was very happy before getting in the car. »

Doohan " very happy " despite a shortened session

For a first appearance on a Formula 1 weekend, Jack Doohan set the 19th time. An unrepresentative time since it was made on hard compounds, while these EL1s were not intended to seek the best possible brand. The Australian quickly put his emotions aside to focus on settings and data acquisition for the car byEsteban Ocon. The current Virtuosi driver in Formula 2 was satisfied that he had achieved his goal of keeping his car off the wall. “I did six fast laps on the hard tire in the first stint. From the start, obviously, it was very slippery and I just progressed little by little, doing what we had to do and taking it, obviously, very slowly because I didn't want to put the car or anything or in danger. »

Jack Doohan – son of five-time 500cc motorcycle world champion Mick Doohan – was able to complete 13 laps with the A522 before “anomalies” on the engine Renault come to shorten his session. Despite this, the 19-year-old Australian was still enthusiastic after the session. “I'm happy with how it went. We all seem to be on the same level with the team. It would have been good to get a few more laps, but I'm still very happy to have been on track and had that experience. »

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