Jack Doohan takes defiant stance over F1 future

Jack Doohan insists there is still a "good opportunity" for him to race in F1 as he prepares to make his European Le Mans Series (ELMS) debut this weekend.

The Haas reserve driver will dovetail his duties for the American squad with Nielsen Racing in the endurance championship, which kicks off its season with the four-hour race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain.

The 23-year-old was unceremoniously dropped for Franco Colapinto just seven rounds into his Alpine tenure and left Team Enstone at the end of last year.

Now, as he returns to competition in the LMP2 class of ELMS, Doohan feels he is ready to get back to the rigours of a full-time seat.

"It's all excitement for me," he told RACER. "There's not much nervous anticipation. If I wasn't prepared, I would say so.

"I think when preparation is done correctly, there are nerves associated with excitement and the unexpected. But regarding the aspects in my control, I think the nerves are okay.

"There will be the factor of doing my first live driver change, there are firsts coming from F1 and F2, but I feel quite good.

"I haven't raced in almost a year, and within that time, I wasn't able to drive a car either. It's a long time to be outside a car, not just racing but driving.

"Before my seven races with Alpine, I'd also not raced in the year prior, in 2024 [apart from the F1 season finale in Abu Dhabi]. There's been a gap, so it's important to do this to get race fit and build up consistency again."

But despite the shifting away from single-seaters for his return to racing, the Australian is adamant he still has a foot in the door in F1, even if he does welcome a career racing a car with a roof.

"I definitely don't rule it [a future in sports cars] out, and there's been some great opportunities to be in sports cars," he added.

"But transparently, Formula 1 is the ultimate goal, and right now there's still a good opportunity, not just a hope in the air. There's still a foot in the door.

"However, if that wasn't the case, this would be a nice focus — you can have a great career in sports cars."

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Doohan's main focus

Doohan will be joined by former F2 colleague Roy Nissany, who raced in ELMS LMP2 last year for Duqueine, and British driver and fellow rookie Edward Pearson.

"I've got great team-mates," he said. "Roy, I've known for some time during my days in F2. Ed, I don't know him well, but he's a strong Silver [rated driver], and I remember him from when I was with Virtuosi in F2, and he was with them in the F4 team.

"With Roy, I actually tested alongside him when I got my first taste of the ORECA in Abu Dhabi. It's been great to pick his brain. He's very strong; he showed a lot in F2 when things were right.

"We'll be diving in to get a nice, consistent package between all of us. The team has also been very helpful to get Ed and I up to speed. It's a well-structured organisation."

With LMP2 being a spec series using the ORECA 07, there is a lot to learn to get up to speed against rival teams and drivers.

"I'm just focusing on the race, and the relevant areas where an impact can come from," Doohan stated.

"It's been about familiarisation with the car, comfort over long runs and traffic. It's difficult to outline where we are before Round 1.

"My main focus is to work with the team, stay race fit and sharp and get good results. If we do everything right as drivers, I think we won't be in a bad place, but I'm not looking too far ahead as it's a long championship."