Despite mediocre season, Szafnauer retains confidence: 'A good driver'

Prior to the season, Jack Doohan told GPBlog nothing less than winning the Formula 2 title was his goal for the season. At almost halfway through the year, the conclusion can already be drawn that the championship is no longer in the cards. Far from it, as the Australian is only 12th in the standings. A hefty setback, especially with a view to his future.

Like many competitors in F2, Doohan has never made a secret of wanting to compete in Formula 1. The 20-year-old is - in addition to his racing commitments in F2 - test and reserve driver for Alpine, so the prospect of a seat is there. But experience has also shown that drivers who fail to impress in the step-up class are usually not transferred to F1.

Szafnauer sees improvement

In a disappointing season, Alpine still sees bright spots. Team boss Otmar Szafnauer concludes that Doohan struggled with the car at the start of the season, something the American says has since improved. Szafnauer even sees an improvement in results, he told Australian site Speedcafe.

Szafnauer and the French team are not dropping their protegee. "We continue to prepare him for Formula 1, and he’s also doing our programme of running a two-year-old Formula 1 car. He’s a good racing driver and works really hard, intelligent and he’s got a future ahead of him," Szafnauer said.

In a week and a half, the next races in F2 are scheduled in Austria. Szafnauer says he is looking forward to seeing Doohan 'competing at the front'.