Jack Doohan has revealed he has turned down opportunities in other categories in a bid to help his chances of reaching the FIA Formula 1 World Championship in 2025.
The Australian finished third in the FIA Formula 2 championship standings behind Theo Pourchaire and Frederik Vesti in 2023 but is unlikely to return to the category in 2024, with the Australian having revealed he has turned down a number of options that would have seen him racing in some capacity next year.
He rejected the chance of joining the Alpine team in the FIA World Endurance Championship as the French marque returns to the premier class of the championship next season, while he could also have found himself racing in either the NTT IndyCar Series or the Japanese-based Super Formula championship.
Doohan, a multiple race winner in Formula 2 and member of the BWT Alpine F1 Team’s junior programme, says his focus remains in reaching Formula 1 in 2025, and staying close to the F1 team – with who he made two free practice appearances in 2023 in Mexico City and Abu Dhabi – is important for that to potentially happen.
“At the moment, I don’t have anything set to race,” Doohan is quoted as saying by Speedcafe. “[I] had quite a lot of options and in all sub formulas and inside formulas other than Formula 1.
“So, not that the opportunities were shy – Super Formula, IndyCar, Hypercar [WEC], whatever it was – I was very fortunate to have those options. However, at this point in time, I feel it’s crucial that I focus only on Formula 1, which is heavily provided by Alpine that I’m able to stay within a car.”
Should Doohan make it into Formula 1, it would potentially mean three Australians on the grid, with Daniel Ricciardo at Scuderia AlphaTauri and Oscar Piastri at the McLaren F1 Team. But whether he is making the right choice by rejecting racing opportunities for an outside chance of a Formula 1 race seat is yet to be seen.