F1 fans all share the same concern after Haas sign Jack Doohan as 2026 reserve driver

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Jack Doohan has secured his new home in the Formula 1 paddock after leaving Alpine, as Haas have confirmed that the Australian will be one of their reserve drivers in 2026.

Haas announced the signing of Doohan on Tuesday, as the American outfit looked to put the final piece of their 2026 puzzle into place. The 23-year-old joins Japanese ace Ryo Hirakawa as one of Haas’ two deputies for race drivers Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon this season.

Doohan has been a free agent since the start of this year, after Alpine agreed to release him from his reserve driver contract with the Enstone squad. He had started the 2025 F1 season as a race driver for Alpine, who demoted him in favour of Franco Colapinto after six rounds.

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F1 fans fear Haas may need new reserve driver Jack Doohan at the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix

Alpine agreed to release Doohan from his contract to let the Australian pursue other career opportunities. That path has now led Doohan to Haas, but a lot of F1 fans believe the team will be crossing their fingers that he will not have to stand in for Bearman or Ocon in Japan.

READ MORE: Every F1 driver’s current penalty points totals ahead of the 2026 season

The Japanese Grand Prix marks round three of the 2026 season, but Suzuka has not been a happy place for Doohan across the last year. Doohan had a 185mph crash in practice at the 2025 Japanese GP, and he crashed three times during a Super Formula test last December.

So, when news emerged that Haas have signed Doohan as a 2026 F1 reserve driver, a lot of fans took to Reddit. One fan noted: “Boy, they’re gonna have their fingers crossed leading up to Suzuka.” Another F1 fan said: “Don’t let him use his services at Suzuka, no matter what!”

One F1 fan also suggested about Haas possibly having to field Doohan in a race: “Hopefully it won’t be at Suzuka, or the car will be destroyed! That’s the only thing he showed he can do in F1.” Another F1 fan also questioned: “But not for Suzuka, right? Right?”

Additionally, one F1 fan stated: “[Haas] should be fine as long as neither Ocon nor Bearman have to skip Suzuka.” Another F1 fan also said, in reference to Doohan’s crashes in Japan in 2025: “Say what you want about the man, but he loves himself a Suzuka crash.”

It is possible that Haas may need Doohan to deputise for Bearman or Ocon at Suzuka during the 2026 Japanese GP. Bearman goes into the new season just two penalty points shy of an automatic one-race ban with 10 to his name, and he will not lose the first two before May 23.

Jack Doohan had a 185mph crash at the 2025 F1 Japanese Grand Prix

Doohan crashed at Turn 1 during FP2 at the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix, after Alpine benched him to field Hirakawa during FP1 amid the Japanese driver’s brief spell in Enstone, as he did not manually close the DRS flap prior to turning in for the high-speed right-hander last April.

READ MORE: Who is Jack Doohan? All you need to know, including his MotoGP icon dad

What should Jack Doohan do now after his Super Formula move fell through?

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The Australian did not believe he needed to close the DRS flap manually for Turn 1, as he had taken Turn 1 flat-out with DRS open on Alpine’s simulator and no team member had told him otherwise. It left Doohan on the back foot, before he qualified P19/20 and also finished P15.

Suzuka yielded further misfortune for Doohan in December, as well, as he crashed once at Degner 2 on all three days of the Japanese Super Formula Championship’s post-season test. He could not address those crashes at the time, as Alpine were yet to formally release him.

Doohan tested for Kondo Racing with the view to joining the team in 2026, but his plans to spend the season in Super Formula have fallen through. It is said that Doohan did not know Kondo Racing wanted him to pay for his seat with the Toyota-affiliated Super Formula team.