Jack Doohan could have his first style of F1 equipment as he prepares for his first outing within the 2021 A521 this weekend in Qatar.
Doohan joins Alpine reserve driver Oscar Piastri on the three-day check on the Losail Worldwide Circuit, house of the Qatar Grand Prix. Piastri drove final 12 months’s race successful challenger on Wednesday and Thursday (11-12 Might) within the Qatari capital including to his first really feel for the automotive in Austin in April.
Nineteen-year-old Dohan joined the Alpine Academy in January and has confronted blended fortunes in his maiden FIA System 2 Championship season to date in 2022.
He recorded pole place on his debut in Bahrain earlier than backing that effort up with a entrance row grid slot in Saudi Arabia and later third place in Imola. He will probably be aiming to transform the promising tempo into greater factors hauls when the season resumes in Barcelona subsequent weekend.
Piastri was on reserve duties in Miami final weekend and can be part of the F1 group for the upcoming back-to-back occasions throughout Barcelona and Monaco after which the Melburnian will head to Austria, for the third check of his in depth personal programme.
“It has been a productive two days of testing the place I’ve continued attending to grips with the A521,” stated Piastri. “It was very popular throughout each days however that is good for bodily preparation.
“The observe has largely been unused lately, so there have been various ranges of grip and the situations have been fairly dusty and windy all through. It was a problem at instances, however essential for me to study driving in several situations. I am wanting ahead to becoming a member of the F1 Group once more in Barcelona and Monaco earlier than my subsequent personal check day in June.”
“I am tremendous excited to drive a System 1 automotive for the primary time,” added Doohan. “This can be a second that I have been constructing as much as ever since I began racing karts, and I do know these alternatives are extraordinarily privileged.
“I am very grateful to Alpine for the chance and I am wanting ahead to giving it my finest on the check day. I’ve watched behind the scenes at some personal assessments earlier than and I’ve accomplished quite a lot of preparation within the loop simulator at Enstone, so I am positively feeling prepared for this problem. I am going to construct myself up on the day, get pleasure from it on the identical time and hopefully be taught as a lot as attainable alongside the group.”
“We’re very happy to offer Jack his first run in a System 1 automotive,” stated Julian Rouse, the Alpine Academy’s Director. “Since he is joined the programme firstly of the 12 months, we have seen Jack develop and develop in a short time. He is spent a little bit of time at Enstone to organize and he is definitely demonstrating promising potential.
“For Oscar, that is his second personal check of the 12 months as a part of his intense testing programme within the 2021-spec System 1 automotive. It is essential for Oscar to remain match match and in control in this kind of equipment and we’re happy to proceed supporting Oscar on his pathway. There’s extra to return for him all year long.”
