Jack Doohan’s next career move is now in ‘doubt’ despite finalising his Alpine F1 exit

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Jack Doohan is officially a free agent after reaching a “mutual agreement” with Alpine to terminate his F1 test and reserve driver contract, as he bids to return to a race seat.

Alpine announced on Tuesday that the Enstone squad and Doohan have agreed to part ways to let him pursue “other career opportunities”. It is expected that Paul Aron will now replace Doohan as the team’s understudy for Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto in the 2026 season.

Doohan initially replaced Esteban Ocon as Gasly’s teammate at the 2024 Abu Dhabi GP. But he was instantly under pressure after Alpine hired Colapinto as a reserve driver, who Flavio Briatore then swapped Doohan out for after only the first six rounds of the 2025 campaign.

Alpine deciding to retain Colapinto for the 2026 season was the final nail in Doohan’s hopes for a return to a race seat in Enstone. The Gold Coast native’s contract with Alpine had also prevented him from committing to joining another team or category in the 2026 campaign.

Which F1 team should Jack Doohan try to make his return with?

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Jack Doohan’s Japanese Super Formula move with Kondo Racing is now in doubt

Alpine confirming Doohan’s exit from the F1 team this Tuesday has removed the hurdle that was preventing him from beginning the next phase of his career. But Autosport-Web reports that there is ‘some doubt’ about Doohan’s likely switch to the Super Formula championship.

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

Doohan knew he had no route back in F1 at Alpine, so he spent ‘several months’ negotiating his release with a view to joining Kondo Racing in the Japanese series. But his talks with the Super Formula team have stalled, with ‘no significant progress’ made over the past month.

Kondo Racing had remained interested in taking Doohan for the 2026 Super Formula season even after he crashed three times during a test at Suzuka in December. But Doohan’s bid to revive his career in Japan is at risk, which his release from Alpine could help him overcome.

Doohan had a troubled first experience of Super Formula, as he crashed once on every day of the three-day test at Suzuka’s Degner 2. Suzuka had even been a sorry stage during his brief F1 career, as Doohan had a 185mph crash at the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix at Turn 1.

Jack Doohan will hope his proposed 2026 Haas F1 reserve driver deal is not at risk

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Doohan has seemed set to join Kondo Racing in the Japanese Super Formula Championship for the past few months, with his release from Alpine previously thought to be his greatest hurdle for securing a seat. The 2026 Super Formula season will start at Motegi on April 4-5.

Additionally, with the Super Formula schedule only featuring 12 races over seven rounds in 2026, Doohan has lined up a Haas F1 reserve driver role to pair with any deal to join Kondo Racing. Haas and Kondo Racing both have close ties with Toyota, hence the expected move.

It remains to be seen how the emerging doubts regarding Doohan’s deal to drive for Kondo Racing could affect his deal to join Haas as an F1 test and reserve driver. It may also remain to be seen if Doohan has a back-up plan to race elsewhere this year now he has left Alpine.