Jack Doohan was all smiles as he arrived at the Bahrain International Circuit this week in his new role as a reserve driver for Haas, calling the move a “clean slate” that will take him “back to the drawing board”.
Doohan previously represented Alpine, making his F1 debut with the team at the end of the 2024 season before continuing into the 2025 campaign, but that planned full-time stint lasted just six more weekends.
Replaced by 2024 Williams super-sub Franco Colapinto from last year’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, Doohan spent the rest of 2025 on the sidelines before formally parting ways with Alpine at the start of 2026.
A few weeks later, though, the 23-year-old Australian – who finished second in the 2021 F3 championship and third in the 2023 F2 standings – was confirmed as a Haas reserve driver, providing support to regular racers Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman.
Giving his first full reaction to the development in the Sakhir paddock, Doohan said: “It’s great. A warm welcome from Haas, which has been amazing. I’m learning a lot of new names and new faces, and I’m really looking forward to getting started.
“I wouldn’t say it’s been my best 10 months, but we’re starting fresh. I’m happy to put the past behind me and embark on this new journey with a clean slate. I’ll get back to the drawing board, be a sponge, take everything in that I can, and learn as much as possible so I can contribute where I can.”
Given that he only contested seven Grands Prix across 2024 and 2025, Doohan also expressed a desire to dovetail his Haas F1 duties with a racing programme – though he stopped short of naming a potential category.
“It’s most important that I’m still racing, that I get race fit,” he continued. “I haven’t raced much at all over the last two years, with sitting out in 2024, by choice of the team, and then last year unfortunately not racing as much as I would have liked.
“It’s crucial that I stay race fit this year with a programme that I’m hopefully able to finalise in the coming days. That will then allow me and the team to structure my attendance [at F1 weekends] to make sure that I’m trackside as much as possible, but also in the sim at the factory, making sure that the work’s being done behind the scenes.”
As for whether he might get some track time in Haas machinery, Doohan added: “That’d be ideal, for sure, for both sides – but that will be structured once the full plan and my racing’s finalised.”