The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will host the 24th and final race of the 2024 season and also hand a debut to a 24th different driver this year.
After a winter where no driver changes took place heading into 2024, three swaps have already been made this year and Alpine will hand Jack Doohan his debut at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to complete a fourth and final change.
Esteban Ocon is the driver making way for Doohan at Alpine after completing nearly five seasons with the manufacturer.
A race victory in Hungary in 2021 will always be seen as the highlight of Esteban Ocon’s time with Alpine, although their double podium in Sao Paulo may have earned the team millions in prize money at the detriment of Ocon’s future employer.
The Frenchman will join Haas in 2025 and was all set to take part in their post-season test after the race in Abu Dhabi.
However, it appears as though contractually Ocon needed to be released for that to happen, otherwise Alpine could have blocked him from running in those sessions.
This all means that Doohan is being handed his Formula 1 debut a race earlier than he would have expected.
The 21-year-old Australian was set to make his debut at his home race in Melbourne next year, and while the pressure will be off Doohan heading into Sunday’s race, there’s still a lot at stake for Alpine.
Jack Doohan set to make his Alpine debut at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Posting on Instagram after the news was confirmed, Doohan said: “Stoked to be racing in Abu Dhabi this weekend for my debut Grand Prix.
“Grateful to @alpinef1team for the trust and for giving me this opportunity.
“Also very grateful to Esteban who I’ve learnt a great deal from over the last two years.
“He’s been beneficial to my learning and development in Formula 1 and wish him the best for his future.
“Focused on the job at hand this week and working with Pierre to help the team achieve its objective.”
Former F2 rival and fellow F1 graduate Oliver Bearman was delighted to see that Doohan was going to make his long-awaited F1 debut after being thrown into the action himself on three separate occasions this year.
READ MORE: Who is 2025 Alpine F1 driver Jack Doohan? Everything you need to know
Nelson Piquet Jr. – who raced for Alpine predecessors Renault – applauded the young Australian ahead of his first appearance.
Luke Browning, who will compete in his first F1 session in Abu Dhabi with Williams, said: “Congrats mate!” to the 21-year-old.
Alpine could earn millions from Jack Doohan and Pierre Gasly at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
The battle for sixth place in the Constructors’ Championship is one of several fascinating storylines for F1 fans to concentrate on in Abu Dhabi.
Alpine have a five-point cushion over Haas with RB eight points further back.
| Position | Constructors’ Standings | Points |
| 1 |
McLaren Racing |
640 |
| 2 |
Scuderia Ferrari |
619 |
| 3 |
Red Bull Racing |
581 |
| 4 |
Mercedes-AMG Petronas |
446 |
| 5 |
Aston Martin F1 Team |
92 |
| 6 |
Alpine F1 Team |
59 |
| 7 |
Haas F1 Team |
54 |
| 8 |
Visa Cash App RB Formula One Team |
46 |
| 9 |
Williams F1 Team |
17 |
| 10 |
Sauber F1 Team |
4 |
Flavio Briatore knows exactly how much prize money Alpine can earn and must believe that the risk of replacing Ocon with Doohan for one final race is worth that gamble.
READ MORE: All you need to know about Alpine F1 Team from team principal to lineage
Doohan has a strong record at Abu Dhabi in the past, scoring points in Formula 2 during his first two visits, before winning the 2023 Feature Race in his final outing in the series.
The Australian has taken part in plenty of testing behind the scenes for Alpine this year in preparation for 2025.
His FP1 sessions haven’t gone to plan this season, but he’ll have three hours of practice before his first qualifying outing.
With the threat of Franco Colapinto being signed by Alpine seemingly no longer a problem, he doesn’t have to worry about being dropped before his F1 career has even started.
