Jack Doohan on sharing the grid with fellow Aussie Oscar Piastri and missing Daniel Ricciardo

Australia will have two drivers racing in the Australian Grand Prix for the second year in a row. But the lament of rookie driver Jack Doohan is that Daniel Ricciardo is nowhere to be seen.

Alpine rookie Jack Doohan has lamented the absence of Daniel Ricciardo for his Albert Park debut as he lauded Oscar Piastri’s “exceptional” rise in Formula 1 ahead of his first home Grand Prix alongside his fellow Australian.

Australia will have two drivers racing in the Australian Grand Prix for the second year in a row as Doohan embarks on his first full season for Alpine in Formula 1 when the 2025 championship launches in Melbourne this week.

Last year, Australia had a pair of drivers on the grid at Albert Park for the first time since 2013 when hometown hero and McLaren star Piastri and Ricciardo raced alongside each other in their home race for the first time.

While the F1 grid has since farewelled Ricciardo, son-of-a-gun Doohan will give Australian fans another driver to cheer with a name already famous in Australian motorsport.

Popular Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo will be a notable absentee from the grid this weekend. Picture: AFP

The son of five-time 500cc motorcycle world champion Mick, Doohan made his F1 race debut for Alpine in last year’s season-ending race in Abu Dhabi.

As Doohan’s career begins, Piastri will be aiming to continue his rise after a season when he claimed two race wins and finished fourth in the drivers’ championship standings.

The 22-year-old from the Gold Coast said he could not wait for the chance to join Piastri on the grid at Albert Park, but was disappointed Ricciardo would not be there with them after the eight-time Grand Prix winner’s exit from the F1 grid last year.

“It is great to have another Aussie on the grid,” Doohan said.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, Williams driver Alexander Albon and Alpine’s Jack Doohan talk during the drivers photocall prior to F1 testing at Bahrain. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

“It would have been amazing with DR (Ricciardo) still here (as well), but at least there are still two of us.

“Oscar has been doing exceptional, especially last year and the McLaren car was fast.

“Hopefully we’re able to challenge him in the near future and it’s great to be on the grid with him.”

While he was disappointed Ricciardo would not be joining the pair on the grid in Australia, Doohan said he had caught up with the former F1 favourite towards the end of last year.

Ricciardo has been keeping a low profile since his final F1 race in Singapore last September, but made a public comeback last week when he launched his new Enchante Rose wine in a campaign on social media.

“We spoke quite a bit at the end of last year,” Doohan said.

Ricciardo caught up with Doohan last year. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

“I saw him when I was out in LA before heading to (Las) Vegas as well, we caught up briefly there. But since I haven’t had a lot of communication recently.

“He has been doing his thing, enjoying his post-F1 life. Not having to deal with everything going on as it normally would be for him.

“So for sure he is liking that and I’ve just been fully focused on this year ahead.”

This week’s season-opening Grand Prix at Albert Park won’t be the first time Doohan and Piastri have raced alongside each other.

The pair crossed paths in their junior karting days as they both climbed the racing ladder towards Formula 1.

The last time the pair raced together in karting was at the 2016 world junior championships in Bahrain, while they also lined up on the grid together in the last two F2 rounds in 2021 before Piastri made the jump to F1 as a reserve driver.

Jack Doohan is looking forward to joining fellow Aussie Oscar Piastri on the F1 grid. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

The pair both came through the Alpine Academy early on and started their careers in F1 as reserve drivers for Alpine.

Doohan said the pair had a good relationship.

“We are both driving for teams based in the UK, yet far apart,” Doohan said.

“We are not exactly as close as we would be if we were in Australia, but we get along well.”

Originally published as Jack Doohan on sharing the grid with fellow Aussie Oscar Piastri and missing Daniel Ricciardo