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Jack Doohan is now back at square one in his bid to rebuild his career after leaving the Alpine F1 team, as his plan to join the Japanese Super Formula for 2026 has collapsed.
The 23-year-old was expected to sign for Kondo Racing for 2026 and make his debut in the Japanese Super Formula Championship. But the Toyota-affiliated team announced on Friday that Ukyo Sasahara will be driving for the outfit, alongside Williams F1 junior Luke Browning.
Doohan has been free to sign with any team since the start of the year after Alpine released the Australian from his reserve driver contract. The Enstone squad agreed to part ways with him after retaining Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto as their drivers for the 2026 F1 season.
What should Jack Doohan do now after his Super Formula move fell through?
Jack Doohan wrongly thought he did not have to pay for his 2026 Japanese Super Formula seat
Alpine confirmed Doohan’s exit from the F1 team earlier in January to let him explore “other career opportunities”. He had returned to a reserve driver role for the Renault-owned squad last May, as executive adviser Flavio Briatore promoted Colapinto for the rest of last season.
READ MORE: Who is Jack Doohan? All you need to know, including his MotoGP icon dad
It was expected that Doohan’s departure from Alpine would see him sign for Kondo Racing, in a move that would also see him serve as the reserve and simulator driver for Haas thanks to their ties with Toyota. But his possible path back to the Formula 1 paddock has collapsed.
And Jamie Klein reports that Doohan’s Super Formula move has fallen through because of a ‘fundamental misunderstanding’. Kondo Racing had expected the Gold Coast native to bring a budget to the team, but he believed that the team did not expect him to pay for the drive.
The ‘last-minute’ confusion about the finances of the move was the main reason why Kondo Racing have opted against signing Doohan. Although, his camp had also started to question whether the Japanese Super Formula was the right category for Doohan to join this season.
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Doohan endured a bruising first experience of Super Formula when he tested at Suzuka with Kondo Racing in December. The son of MotoGP icon Mick Doohan crashed at Degner 2 on all three days of the test, which Kondo Racing had claimed they would not hold against him.
It now remains to be seen where Doohan heads next, with any move unlikely to present him with a path back to the F1 paddock. Joining Kondo Racing would have kept the Australian on the peripheries of the Formula 1 paddock through their close ties with Haas partner, Toyota.
Haas were due to sign Doohan as their 2026 F1 reserve and simulator driver, as part of their increased partnership with Toyota this year. The deal could have also put Doohan in the mix for a Haas race seat in 2027, as Oliver Bearman is regularly tipped for a promotion to Ferrari.
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