Jack Doohan will make his Formula 1 debut at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for Alpine as he prepares for his first full campaign next season.
The Australian driver is stepping up one race early as Esteban Ocon will drive for his new team, Haas, in the post-season test after the Grand Prix weekend.
Doohan was brought in heading into the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at short notice and was only announced after the race in Qatar last weekend.
This event should provide the Alpine driver with a foundation to build from heading into his full rookie season next year.
Alex Jacques explained on the F1 Nation podcast that Doohan has already done something very well ahead of his debut.
Jack Doohan has been ‘impressive’ when racing at Abu Dhabi in the past
Doohan has raced at the Yas Marina Circuit previously in Formula 2, which should help him adjust in the opening stages of the weekend.
The Australian driver raced there on three weekends in his junior career and took points at every event, including on his F2 debut.
He also took victory in the Feature Race last season, which helped him secure third in the standings behind Theo Pourchaire and Frederik Vesti.
Formula 1 will be a significant step up in managing the highly complex hybrid system as well as a Grand Prix distance, which will be the longest race he’s competed in.
READ MORE: Ted Kravitz shares what Esteban Ocon said to Flavio Briatore before agreeing early Alpine exit
Doohan may have also completed some testing at the track to gather valuable experience and this should help him get up to speed.
Jacques explained there will be a significant amount of pressure on Doohan’s shoulders over the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend, but he’s done well at the track before.
He said: “He is impressive around there. The team have also, I believe, run him there in private testing in the past, so they’ve got data on what he can do there. It might not be quite as mad as it sounds, but, huge pressure on his shoulders.”
Alpine are in battling for sixth in the Constructors’ Championship
Alpine have had a mixed season as they locked out the back row of the grid at the season opener in Bahrain before steadily improving.
The French team are sixth in the Constructors’ Championship and holding narrow advantages over Haas and RB.
Alpine are five points ahead of Haas with RB a further eight points behind the American team ahead of the final round of the season.
Jolyon Palmer feels Alpine made an error by dropping Ocon as there are such fine margins in the championship battle.
