Formula 1’s drivers are the stars of the show, doing battle over every round of the calendar while entertaining millions of fans across the globe. But the support team behind them, helping them perform to the best of their ability, is extensive.
Among the myriad of engineers, mechanics and strategists – and many more beyond that – is the reserve driver. They are ready to step in at a moment’s notice should either of the team’s regular drivers be unable to take part at any stage over a race weekend.
Haas’ Ollie Bearman is one driver on the current grid who got his first taste of F1 action when – in his then-role as Ferrari reserve – he stepped in for Carlos Sainz at the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, after the Spaniard was struck down with appendicitis. Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson is another, making his F1 debut at the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix after Daniel Ricciardo broke his hand in a practice crash.
But there’s much more to being an F1 reserve driver than simply sitting on the metaphorical substitutes’ bench waiting for the call.
Jack Doohan – who raced in F1 for Alpine at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the opening six races of 2025 – sits down opposite me inside Haas’ hospitality at the Canadian Grand Prix weekend. Following his Alpine stint, he signed with Haas in February this year to operate as one of the team’s reserve drivers, dovetailing the duties alongside Japanese racer Ryo Hirakawa.
He’s here to explain all about his role with his new team, with the Australian present in the paddock in Canada and Monaco, and he will be present at following rounds to come.
“It’s been great so far,” he says as I ask how he’s been settling into his new environment. “The team have been extremely welcoming and it’s been a very nice atmosphere to come into.
“Typically, these things are a little bit more, let’s say, set in stone from earlier points. So, just coming to Bahrain [for pre-season testing] as a brand-new face, it was different than normal circumstances. But, like I said, everyone was extremely welcoming and I feel like I’ve fit in right at home so far.”
‘You’re the closest person outside of the race driver that knows what’s going on’
F1 reserve drivers are a key cog within any team. Not only do they need to be ready to jump into the car should the call come, but they also perform a key role in meetings and supporting the squad’s regular drivers – in Haas’ case that’s Bearman and Esteban Ocon.
“The long and short of a reserve driver is you’re on standby to jump in the car at any given point in case the two main drivers are incapable of [doing that], whether that be though injury, illness or other things,” Doohan explains.
“Around that, then there’s multiple different sorts of activities and events that surround it to support the drivers and also support the team, which includes simulated days away from the track and simulated days throughout the race weekend on race support. Typically, as the reserve driver, you’re the closest person outside of the race driver that knows what’s going on so it’s extremely valuable to have our feedback from a different perspective, especially when we’ve been inside the car.
“On the track side point of view, it’s about assisting the team and sponsors, having live appearances, sponsored dinners and then also [acting as] a second set of eyes and ears in the meetings and with onboard footage, lines and different scenarios that can’t necessarily be covered in real time by the engineers. They all have dedicated roles and KPIs to them that can’t cover everything.”
With Doohan on the ground in Canada and Monaco – very different tracks on the F1 calendar – I ask if there are circuit-specific aspects to bear in mind when supporting the team.
“I think really playing it by ear,” he tells me. “Obviously, there’s a lot of generalisations for different tracks that have different characteristics and which you take different perspectives on.
“However, sometimes what you think is going to be an issue, it turns out not to be, and where you think you’re going to be strong, you end up not being.
“It’s kind of playing it by ear and then, once you allocate a problem, although you can tend to fix it, it tends to be something throughout the weekend that you’re chasing, you’re following, and it seems to be a trend of the pack, especially on a Sprint weekend like this [in Canada] where you only have one free practice session to get it right.
“So, [there aren’t] three practice sessions where your balance is evolving quite a lot, where you roll out of the garage is really what you’re stuck with. It tends to be following on and trying to see how we’re comparing to other cars and if there’s anything, even on driving line and positioning, that can be any sort of aid to assist with the issues that they have going on.”
‘A lot more to take in’
Doohan is no stranger to the role of a reserve having acted in that position for Alpine prior to his full-time stint with the team. But there are still aspects of the role that bring its own set of challenges.
“When you’re a young driver and you’re coming into the reserve role for the first time – and you have aspirations of being a full-time Formula 1 driver – it’s more about taking in the extra knowledge base of having 10 engineers in your ear and different discussions and communications going on in parallel, instead of just one or two direct lines of communication,” he says when I ask about those specific challenges.
“[There’s] a lot more to take in and understanding where it’s valuable to you and where it’s not. There’s a lot of noise and a lot of things going on. Sticking clear to what’s actually in your control and has a common direct effect to you is important.”
Aside from his F1 duties, Doohan also has his own racing to juggle – the Australian is participating in the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) endurance competition while fellow Haas reserve Hirakawa is racing in the World Endurance Championship.
But Doohan expects to be on the ground for “10 or 11” F1 weekends this year and time in the paddock is always valuable.
“Typically, it’s decided well in advance,” he says when I ask what his F1 schedule is like for the season. “Especially with my case being that I only became the reserve driver for the team in February, and with Ryo being the other reserve driver, things were quite, let’s say, set in stone.
“[Normally] it would be spread quite evenly across the races. However, I end up taking over the races that Ryo can’t, because of his World Endurance Championship commitments, so it’s a spread of, I think, 10 or 11 races this year, which is great.
“They are all good venues, which is even more enjoyable. This [Canada] is the second one out of the first six, so I think the biggest gap, but it’s been nice focusing on some other things as well. It’s great to be back in the paddock again.”
The ‘forever flow’
So, do reserve drivers have goals in the same way anyone else would depending on their job or role within a Formula 1 team?
“Obviously it’s a little bit different as you’re not setting [a goal] of being at a meeting three minutes before and hoping you get closer and closer or whatever,” he jokes. “Or getting shorter and shorter times in paddock clubs to get out of it earlier, whatever it might be!
“It’s not necessarily the clearest KPIs that you have. I guess it’s more things in the background of ensuring that you’re as ready as a driver can be to support in any case because you really never know when [the call up] could happen. Nine times out of 10 it’s not going to and it’s not something that you expect, that [feeling of], ‘oh, okay, I haven’t jumped in the car this weekend, maybe next’.
“It’s more just that sort of standby, forever flow. But, you know, there’s no one common goal, depending on which stage of being a reserve driver you are, if you want to be back in the car. So, at any point you’re able to show some expertise or value, you want to be displaying it.”
Time will tell as to whether we will see the Australian back in an F1 car, or if there are other categories to come in his career. But one thing is for sure – he will be trying to showcase his qualities every day while working with Haas and the team can only benefit from his valuable input.