Another driver CV for Alpine but Bruno Famin says ‘he’s one possibility’

Bruno Famin is the team boss at Alpine

Jack Doohan is “more ready than ever” to step up into Formula 1, but Alpine team boss Bruno Famin has refused to name-check him as the favourite to replace Esteban Ocon.

Alpine announced earlier this month that this would be Ocon’s final season with the team, bringing an end to their five-year relationship that included a victory at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix.

Jack Doohan hopes to replace Esteban Ocon in 2025

Reserve driver Doohan has been linked to the Frenchman’s vacant seat with Alpine potentially having two seats open given Pierre Gasly’s future is unconfirmed.

Last month the 21-year-old put a two-year-old A522 through its paces in a private test at Zandvoort while in Canada he had a brief run in this year’s A524 during FP1. He only completed three laps given the inclement weather.

Doohan will have at least one more FP1 run before the season is over as the Aussie looks to stamp his mark on Ocon’s soon-to-be-vacant seat. He believes he’s more than ready to step up into Formula 1.

“It’s obviously a great opportunity, it’s my dream to be in Formula 1 and I want to be on the grid next year,” he told SpeedCity Broadcasting.

“If the opportunity presents itself here then that would be amazing. I’ve been building and growing with this team now for the last three years, so it would be a great transition.

“I went testing a lot in the 2021 machinery and also 2022, so I feel more ready than ever, I felt extremely comfortably coming into [the FP1 run] as well, so it’ll be a natural transition. But I’ll keep my head down, I’m here as reserve driver.

“I’m taking it day-by-day and if everything aligns then great, but I’ll just keep working and make sure that I maximise my job on track when I get the opportunity – hopefully more laps [than in Canada]! – and off the track whether that’s in the sim or with the [team].”

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Bruno Famin says Jack Doohan is ‘one possibility among others’

The decision, though, is not Doohan’s, it’s his team boss Famin’s and right now he’s undecided.

“I think he’s an option, for sure,” Famin told Sky Sports in Montreal. “Jack is an option. We are preparing him.

“He was testing in Zandvoort some time ago and he has quite a heavy testing programme. 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.”

Pressed as to whether the Aussie was a ‘favourite’ for the seat, the team boss replied: “No, I won’t comment on that, I won’t answer that one.”

Alpine have also been linked with Zhou Guanyu, who was a Renault junior before parting ways with the French company to join Alfa Romeo, and Mick Schumacher. The latter races for Alpine in the World Endurance Championship but has made it known he wants to return to F1.

“Fighting your way back is exhausting,” he told the Independent. “You get this cake presented to you which is really good, but you’re not allowed to eat it. And you have to watch everybody else eat it. So it’s tough, for sure, but I know why I’m doing it.

“Frankly, the way I was two years ago has nothing to do with the person I am today.

“F1 has been a dream I’ve had since I was five years old and I’m not ready to let go of that dream.

“Sometimes you feel like you have a chance, then it actually never ends up happening because something else happens. It’s been an emotional rollercoaster and a draining last few years, but I’m working my way back.”

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