Jack Doohan is starting a rookie season in a difficult environment (Image: Getty)
is preparing for a rookie season unlike no other in recent memory as he looks to stave off competition from to keep his seat, but the Australian has historic links to one of the sport’s most successful ever drivers.
The 21-year-old is currently embroiled in an unfortunate situation at Alpine heading into his rookie year, but he can at least fall back on the advice and guidance of his father, Mick Doohan.
Doohan Snr is considered one of the greatest motorbike riders of all time. Between 1994 and 1998, he claimed five consecutive 500cc World Championships. The 59-year-old won 54 of the 137 races he started with Honda during a 10-year career and stood on the podium 95 times.
A certified legend on two wheels, Doohan Snr even got the opportunity to test an F1 car when he drove the title-winning Williams FW19 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. As his world crossed over with the open-wheel community, he struck up a close friendship with Michael Schumacher.
The seven-time world champion even named his son – future Haas F1 driver Mick – after the 500cc legend. “Mick Schumacher isn’t named after his dad like a lot of people seem to think,” explained Eddie Jordan in an episode of the Formula For Success podcast.
“Mick Schumacher is named after a person who his father, Michael, was in total awe of, a sportsman who had won five world titles back to back with Honda. And that is no other than Mick Doohan. As a mark of respect, Michael Schumacher called his son Mick.”
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Mick Doohan and Michael Schumacher had a close friendship (Image: Getty)
Schumacher was a key figure in Doohan Jnr’s development as a child and even bought the new Alpine recruit his first go-kart, setting him on a path towards the pinnacle of open-wheel racing.
“I was fortunate enough that he was a family friend from a young age,” Doohan explained. “Michael used to visit us in Australia occasionally and stay with us because my dad and him were friends. They lived next door to each other in Monaco at one point.
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“Michael gave me and my sister our first go-kart when we were three. Given everything he has accomplished and his whole mentality, he is someone whom I look up to massively. My father, as well, because of how much he achieved, knowing he came from nothing.
“He has given me the opportunity to be able to do this, and I’ve been very fortunate to have been brought into this life. My dad didn’t have that luxury, so his dedication and work ethic were above and beyond, and I hugely look up to that.”