Jack Doohan names which current Formula 1 driver is his ‘role model’

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Jack Doohan will enter Formula 1 as the newest rookie for the 2025 season at an Alpine team whose academy he has been patiently waiting for a big opportunity in.

He will replace the outgoing Esteban Ocon, who moves to Haas after five seasons with the French team, to partner Pierre Gasly, who recently signed a contract extension.

Alpine started the 2024 campaign in dismal fashion, but found a way to take weight off the car with upgrades that brought them into points scoring contention.

They’re no longer the slowest team on the grid – but that doesn’t mean they are where they want to be by any stretch of the imagination.

Jack Doohan shares ‘role model’ driver on current F1 grid

The Aussie is going to be 22 years old when he steps onto the grid for the first time in 2025, and he’ll be joining Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman as the three drivers going through their first full-time seasons.

After finishing third in Formula 2 last year, Doohan has been driving the Alpine simulator and helping the team develop a car that he will inherit.

That will have its advantages down the road for a man who will be advised every step of the way by one of his fellow countrymen, as he revealed on The Fast and the Curious podcast.

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“With Daniel and Oscar, we see each other, say hello – definitely chat. Daniel has been more of a sort of like, role model to me obviously, with his experience and his career in F1.

“Since I’ve sort of came onto the Formula 3, Formula 2 ladder, he’s been very helpful and always reaching out for a chat and to help me out. It’s sort of a different relationship that I have with Daniel.”

What can Alpine realistically expect from their 2025 campaign?

Alpine will expect more from next season than they have achieved this year, having started on the backfoot for a variety of reasons, including numerous personnel departures.

They will also have a clearer development path heading into next year, which means they should be able to pick up where they have left off this year.

They consistently in and around the top 10 now, which might not quite be enough to satisfy everyone within the team and the fans, but it’s a huge step in the right direction.

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Learning the ins and outs of Formula 1 while competing in an ultra-competitive midfield will do Doohan, who has been out of competitive racing for a year, a lot of good, as he hones his racecraft and gets used to the machinery that he will be dealing with for the next few years.

2025 is the last year of the current era of technical regulations, making it a bit of a free pass for him, and an opportunity to learn from a very experienced teammate in Gasly.