For Haas F1 reserve driver Jack Doohan, this weekend feels like an important one for his career. The 23-year-old, who forms part of Nielsen Racing’s #24 line-up in the European Le Mans Series’ LMP2 class, is finally back racing after his brief spell in F1 last year and primed for his first season in sportscars.
The softly-spoken Queenslander, who climbed the single-seater ladder from F4 all the way to Formula 1 between 2018 and 2025, is eager to make an early impact in the wake of his departure from the pressure cooker that is the Alpine F1 team. But he remains realistic about the challenge that lies ahead.
He’s still new to the ORECA 07 platform, working with his teammates, the ruleset, and the Nielsen set-up. He’s also not raced since the Miami Grand Prix back in May last year. Nevertheless, with multiple days of testing under his belt at Abu Dhabi and Thermal Club over this winter, and during this week’s pre-season ELMS sessions in Spain, he has managed to keep his nerves at bay.
“It’s all excitement for me,” he tells DSC. “There’s not much nervous anticipation. If I wasn’t prepared, I would say so. I think when preparation is done correctly, there are nerves associated with excitement and the unexpected. But regarding the aspects in my control, I think the nerves are ok. There will be the factor of doing my first live driver change, there are firsts coming from F1 and F2, but I feel quite good.
“I haven’t raced in almost a year, and within that time, I wasn’t able to drive a car either. It’s a long time to be outside a car, not just racing but driving. Before my seven races with Alpine, I’d also not raced in the year prior, in 2024 (bar the F1 season finale in Abu Dhabi). There’s been a gap, so it’s important to do this to get race fit and build up consistency again.”
There’s been a gap, so it’s important to do this to get race fit and build up consistency again
Over the two days of running so far this week in Barcelona, Doohan and teammate Edward Pearson (also an ELMS LMP2 rookie) have been soaking up knowledge from Nielsen’s engineers. They have also been leaning on the experience of the third driver in the line-up, Roy Nissany, who took on the ELMS last year with Duqueine.
“I’ve got great teammates,” Doohan states. “Roy I’ve known for some time during my days in F2. Ed, I don’t know him well, but he’s a strong Silver, and I remember him from when I was with Virtuosi in F2, and he was with them in the F4 team.
“With Roy, I actually tested alongside him when I got my first taste of the ORECA in Abu Dhabi. It’s been great to pick his brain. He’s very strong; he showed a lot in F2 when things were right. We’ll be diving in to get a nice, consistent package between all of us. The team has also been very helpful to get Ed and I up to speed. It’s a well-structured organisation.”
Expectations for the season, Doohan admits, are tough to gauge at this point. The LMP2 field, which this year features 11 cars, remains stacked with high-quality drivers and teams, and there’s still plenty for him to learn in this area of the sport.
“I’m just focusing on the race, and the relevant areas where an impact can come from,” he adds. “It’s been about familiarisation with the car, comfort over long runs and traffic. It’s difficult to outline where we are before Round 1.
“My main focus is to work with the team, stay race fit and sharp and get good results. If we do everything right as drivers, I think we won’t be in a bad place, but I’m not looking too far ahead as it’s a long championship.”
Looking at the bigger picture, whether Doohan’s future lies in sportscar racing, single-seaters or even a bit of both, is currently unclear. As Haas F1’s reserve driver, there’s the potential for a door to reopen in Formula 1, so for now, his concentration is set on the here and now rather than the years to come.
“I definitely don’t rule it out (a long-term future in sports cars), and there’s been some great opportunities to be in sportscars,” he explains. “But transparently, Formula 1 is the ultimate goal, and right now there’s still a good opportunity, not just a hope in the air. There’s still a foot in the door.
“However, if that wasn’t the case, this would be a nice focus, you can have a great career in sportscars.”
Images courtesy of Andrew Lofthouse and David Lord
