Alpine is attempting to secure sixth in the F1 2024 Constructors’ Championship with rookie Jack Doohan in the second car for his debut race.

The Australian driver will take part in his first grand prix on Sunday in Abu Dhabi, with Doohan taking over from Esteban Ocon for the last race of the year.

Jack Doohan ‘not happy at all’ after qualifying

Doohan has been put into the unenviable position of trying to help Alpine secure sixth in the Constructors’ Championship in his very first race, with the Enstone-based squad attempting to hold onto a five-point lead over seventh-placed Haas – VCARB are in eighth, a further eight points back.

The experienced combination of Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon may have been a more optimal duo for the challenge of securing sixth, but Ocon was forced to make way for Doohan in order to be allowed to participate in the post-season test with his new team, Haas.

The suggestion from some quarters had been that Ocon, moving to Haas, may not be committed to trying to help the team he’s departing beat the team he’s moving to – although it’s understood this isn’t a view widely held within the team.

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Regardless, it’s Doohan who has been landed with the challenge of trying to help Gasly secure some points and see off the Haas and VCARB threat, but it was a tough qualifying for the rookie as he was knocked out in Q1 in 20th – Gasly went on to qualify in sixth, and will start ahead of Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg following the German driver’s three-place grid penalty.

Reflecting on his session, Doohan explained where he saw his qualifying having gone wrong – pointing to traffic on his final run as being a major factor in his final result.

“The first run was solid,” Doohan said.

“I felt I could take some nice steps forward with the car balance, but also for myself.

“I was decently happy [with the] second [run]. I think we were a little bit on the back foot just exiting the pit lane, a very tricky situation, coming to a halt.

“So, from that point, tyre temps, everything was a little bit down. [I was] pushing like a maniac really to just make the flag in the end, and a big back-up when we got to Sector 3.

“I was trying to manage the gap to [Lance] Stroll and then a few Mercedes came past… the clutch was in between [Turn] 15 to 16.

“It’s very hard to ask the car to perform as you want when you’re well down on tyre temperatures and [not] having the car in the window.

“It’s a bit unfortunate – I’m definitely disappointed with the end result, but that’s not the last time that will happen.”

Despite presenting a chipper attitude as he spoke to the media, Doohan denied he was as happy on the inside.

“I’m not happy at all, but I need to look at the positives,” he said.

“There was a very steep learning curve, a situation that I didn’t really want to face today, but I did – so I’m just looking forward to the race now and making sure that I can put myself in the best position possible to assist the team.”

Doohan denied feeling as though he’s been thrown in at the deep end with such a challenge in front of him, and said the Saturday night focus will be on his contribution to the championship position push.

“That’s what’s going to be going on in a few minutes time when I’m back with the team, analysing how we can position myself to try and support Pierre,” he said.

With Gasly now somewhat isolated near the front, and facing the pressure of delivering a result to secure an overall sixth against a strong Haas team, the French driver said he’s been impressed by what he’s seen of Doohan so far.

“Honestly, I think he’s been doing well,” he said.

“Obviously, it’s unfortunate, in the end in Q1, I think he had a bit of a poor outlap with the traffic and stuff which didn’t make it easy for him.

“But to jump into the last weekend, trying to get a feel for the car, and get it right, I think it was actually a pretty, pretty strong job.

“Obviously, a target for him is to learn as much as possible for next season. But I think he’s done a good job.”

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