Jack Doohan, who is set to drive for Alpine in the 2025 F1 season, aims to achieve success in the sport following his father, Mick Doohan, a two-wheeler racing legend.
Mick is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racing World Champion and a five-time winner of the 500 cc World Championship. With Jack being a part of the Alpine family as a reserve in 2024, Mick was invited by the Enstone-based outfit to take part in a roadshow in Melbourne last year.
The occasion was the 30th anniversary of Mick’s first 500 cc title. And he got the opportunity to share the track with his son. The then 57-year-old suited up in overalls and rode around Albert Park on his championship-winning bike, while Jack drove the Benetton B200 — a car developed in Enstone long before they were called Alpine.
“It’s actually the first time we have shared a track together with me in a car and him on a bike so that will be an incredibly special moment,” Jack had said at the event.
Right in the feels pic.twitter.com/rCOUBNLUut
— BWT Alpine Formula One Team (@AlpineF1Team) January 5, 2025
It was a memorable afternoon for the Doohan family. Jack had the opportunity to drive several classic F1 cars, courtesy of Alpine. And the French team honored his father, acknowledging his remarkable achievements.
Throughout 2024, Jack put in the work behind the scenes to contribute to Alpine’s development, and his patience has paid off. Alpine showed faith in him by giving him a seat for the upcoming campaign.
How Doohan came into the F1 picture
Jack had finished third in the 2023 F2 Championship but was forced to spend the following season on the sidelines due to a lack of available seats. Meanwhile, tensions had escalated at Alpine between Esteban Ocon and the rest of the team.
Despite Ocon’s consistent performances and being their only race winner (since the Alpine era started), the team ultimately decided to part ways with him. Jack was soon revealed to be Ocon’s replacement.
Doohan made his race debut at the season finale in Abu Dhabi, where Ocon was removed because of his upcoming commitments with Haas, his new team.
It wasn’t a very memorable weekend for Doohan apart from the fact that it was his first race in F1. He finished P15 in the race, a lap down, and nowhere close to being in the points. To be fair, no one really expected more from him owing to the lack of preparation time.
Come 2025, however, he will be expected to perform well and show Alpine he is worthy of a long-term contract. Especially since there are a plenty of youngsters in the pipeline waiting for an opportunity to get into F1. That includes Mick Schumacher, who had reportedly lost out to Jack in the race for the Alpine seat.
