Mark Webber believes the ascent of Jack Doohan up the Formula 1 ranks shows that Australian motorsport is in a "healthy" place. Doohan will make an assault on claiming the Formula 2 title in 2023 after his strong debut season in the category was combined with FP1 outings for the Alpine team in the second half of the F1 campaign. His compatriot Oscar Piastri is set for his Grand Prix debut with McLaren this season, having replaced outbound Australian Daniel Ricciardo to ensure there is at least one representative from the country on the grid, a streak which began from Webber's own debut in 2002. And the former Red Bull racer, a winner of nine Grands Prix between 2009 and 2012, believes Doohan is further evidence of the strength of talent being produced.
"We've got a pretty good bunch of youngsters coming through, and obviously the junior categories are hard to crack into and stay there," Webber explained to Speedcafe. "It's also bloody expensive to do year in, year out so you've got to get through that as quick as you can. "Jack was very unlucky [in 2022] on lots of occasions, and that's no fault of his own obviously. "[Felipe] Drugovich smoked the championship by loads of points, but it was his third year so he was very experienced [in F2]. "Jack has continuity next year in staying with Virtuosi and that's a really good outfit and good for him. "Having Oscar race [in F1] and Jack in Formula 2, there's some good youngsters coming through in karting, Formula 4, Formula 3, it is insane how Australian motorsport is going through a bit of a healthy patch. "It is tremendous for us, with the enthusiasm for the sport and people having the opportunity to race domestically and then get overseas."
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