Alpine driver Jack Doohan will be glad that amongst all the chaos, he had a relatively uneventful Formula 1 debut.
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix saw cars spinning, penalties dished out and drivers saying goodbye on Sunday.
However, rather unusually, the season finale was when Alpine decided to give Jack Doohan an early debut ahead of his first full F1 season beginning in 2025.
Expectations on Doohan were low heading into the event but that didn’t mean there wasn’t any pressure.
Alpine had to fend off challenges from Haas and RB to secure sixth in the Constructors’ Championship.
That opportunity seemed a long way off just a few weeks ago, but a double-podium finish in Brazil coupled with Pierre Gasly’s exceptional recent form has likely earned Alpine millions in additional prize money.
Doohan’s race seat is also potentially under pressure.
Alpine’s interest in Franco Colapinto remains even after a tricky final few races for the young Argentine.
However, he was crashed into for the second race in succession – this time by Oscar Piastri – before his power unit failed, bringing his maiden F1 campaign to an inauspicious end.
Jack Doohan had ‘weird’ issue with his thumbs during Abu Dhabi Grand Prix debut
Doohan spoke to Speedcafe after the race, and when asked what was more difficult about his maiden Grand Prix than he expected, he said: “My thumbs were harder.
“They weren’t really working too well at the end of the race, to be honest.
“That was weird, something that I wasn’t expecting.”
READ MORE: Who is Alpine F1 driver Jack Doohan? All to know from his girlfriend to dad
The young Australian was then asked what lessons came from jumping into the Alpine a race earlier than expected and continued: “Leaning how much to push on the first sort of 20 laps on that hard tyre on the second stint.
“I obviously came past Bottas, who was struggling quite a lot on the hard and I didn’t really know how much to push.
“I didn’t want to overcook it on my first race and lose out to K-Mag – I didn’t really know where he was.
“I think I can push more and use the tyre a little bit more, but nevertheless, I’m grateful that I finished the race and took so much learning from it.”
Alpine on the right trajectory for the 2025 F1 season
There’s a chance that more than half of the teams on the grid next season will feature rookies, which is likely to level the playing field.
They each arrive with their own levels of experience and success, but F1 is so different to other junior series, that winning championships at other levels is never a guarantee of success.
Doohan spent a year sitting on the sidelines not taking part in competitive racing before standing in for Esteban Ocon in Abu Dhabi.
READ MORE: All you need to know about Alpine F1 Team from team principal to lineage
He’ll know that his racecraft will need to be sharpened quickly when F1 returns at his home race in Australia next season.
But he and Gasly will be buoyed by the progress Alpine have made in 2024 after having the slowest car on the grid at the season opener in Bahrain.
They ended the season as the leading car in the midfield battle and will be encouraged that a Mercedes engineer customer team in McLaren won the Constructors’ Championship with a deal to use their power units beginning in 2026.
