13/06/2024
NEWS STORY
Alpine boss, Bruno Famin has admitted that Australian youngster, Jack Doohan is an option for the French team in 2025.
With Esteban Ocon having confirmed his departure at season end, the hunt is on for a replacement, with a number of drivers, including Valtteri Bottas, Guanyu Zhou and Mick Schumacher linked with the vacant berth.
Asked at the weekend if reserve Doohan is an option, Famin told Sky Sports: "He's an option, for sure. Yes, Jack is an option. We are preparing him.
"He was testing in Zandvoort some time ago and he has quite a heavy testing programme," he added. "We are happy with that and let's see how he develops. He's one possibility among others, but he's one possibility, for sure."
Doohan was all set for his first outing in the A524 at the weekend, but the conditions and the (pain in the arse) tyre rules meant he was limited to just three untimed laps.
"It was not the most exciting FP1 session for me, with limited running due to the weather conditions," he admitted. "With the forecast for the remainder of the weekend also looking uncertain, it was important to save tyres and keep some sets back in case the rain remained.
"We were able to get an installation lap in with the wet tyre and make sure the car was running fine," he added. "Then when the track was drying towards the end, we finished off with an out lap on the soft tyre and conducted a practice start.
"We still managed to gather some useful data," he insisted. "In the end, the weather is outside of our control, but we made the most of what we could given the conditions."
It is thought that Pierre Gasly will also part company with the French team at season end, and when asked at the weekend of his plans he was giving nothing away insisting that he had nothing to announce.
Ocon has been linked with Haas, but with Oliver Bearman widely tipped to join the American team, one has to wonder if anyone in their right mind would want the Frenchman as mentor to the youngster.