Aussie Jack Doohan wins F2 race in Belgium in boost to Alpine F1 hopes

Australian young gun Jack Doohan has done his hopes of driving in F1 no harm, winning the Formula 2 feature race in Belgium.

Jack Doohan won the feature race at Spa in Belgium.

Australian Jack Doohan has emerged as a left-field wildcard for Alpine’s vacant Formula 1 seat after claiming victory in the F2 feature race in Belgium on Sunday.

Doohan, who is the son five-time MotoGP champion Mick, started fourth on the grid in Spa before an excellent start propelled him to second spot by the first corner.

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The 19-year-old executed an undercut on Felipe Drugovich, which allowed him to jump ahead of the F2 championship leader.

Drugovich surged in the dying stages but Doohan did enough to hold on for victory — his second podium of the weekend after he finished second in Saturday’s sprint race.

“Felipe obviously had really good pace and we were able to stay close though, not really drop away,” Doohan said after the race.

“We were both extending the stint and it seemed like you know, our pace was quite similar. “They were saying that the overcut could be possibly stronger, but I decided to do the opposite and box.

“I knew I gathered good tyre temp on the way to the grid, I pushed hard - I wasn’t expecting there to be so much overcut but it was.”

Jack Doohan was thrilled to win the F2 feature race in Belgium.

Highly-touted youngster Theo Pourchaire was forced to retire on the third lap due to mechanical failure, allowing Drugovich to extend his lead in the F2 championship to 43 points.

Doohan is fourth in the standings after his first feature race win in F2, 84 points behind Drugovich.

It was his third win of the season but the other two came in sprint races where the grid is reversed.

The Aussie young gun is linked with the Alpine Academy, just like compatriot Oscar Piastri, who won last year’s F2 title and has had to bide his time on the sidelines of F1 as Alpine’s reserve driver this season.

Piastri is set to replace fellow Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren, after the Australian veteran was effectively sacked with a year remaining on his contract.

Alpine claims it has Piastri under contract for 2023 but Piastri has refuted this. Formula 1’s Contract Recognition Board is set to make a decision on the dispute early next week.

Doohan’s strong form and ties to Alpine could see him edge closer to making his F1 debut with the French team sooner than expected.

Congrats to Jack Doohan, Virtuosi Racing, Jetcraft and Alpine on their feature F2 win at Spa this morning. Another mega-Aussie enters the Alpine F1 show! pic.twitter.com/1KaD8J8t0w

— Peter Windsor (@PeterDWindsor) August 28, 2022

Great start to the day at this masterpiece of a Spa circuit as Jack Doohan wins the Formula 2 feature race. Alpine has a seat spare for 2023 & the young Australian in their academy has claimed multiple rookie victories in F2 🤔 pic.twitter.com/kS5g6iV4Ys

— Richard Bayliss (@RSBayliss) August 28, 2022

Very impressive weekend from Alpine junior Jack Doohan, with P2 in the sprint and then winning the feature race. Up to fourth in the championship with that #F2#BelgianGP

— Chris Medland (@ChrisMedlandF1) August 28, 2022

Alpine has Esteban Ocon locked in but is yet to fill its second seat for next season following Fernando Alonso’s surprise defection to Aston Martin.

Piastri, Ricciardo and Frenchman Pierre Gasly are all options for Alpine next season, but Doohan could be a long-term option for the team in the future.