Doohan, a small adjustment for big miracles?

Despite appearing somewhat lost during testing in Bahrain, Jack Doohan has shown surprising speed since the start of the year, thanks to a subtle yet crucial change made to his car.

During winter testing, the young Australian clearly struggled to keep up with his teammate Pierre Gasly. The Alpine seemed to suit the Frenchman well, while Doohan fought against instability, showing a significant gap in pace. The situation changed dramatically with the start of the season in Australia. Despite an early crash, Doohan’s pace made a strong impression. The pattern repeated itself in China, where the young driver matched Gasly’s qualifying speed, only to be hindered by a poorly executed sprint race move and a harsh penalty in the main race.

So what explains this turnaround? To understand, we need to look at the differences in driving style between Gasly and Doohan — specifically their tolerance for instability. Gasly is exceptionally quick when he can brake late, relying on a sharp front end and rock-solid rear stability.

Doohan, however, describes his preference like this: “a bit more in the same direction, so I enjoy the front even more than he does.” This difference led to a key change after Bahrain testing. “I can handle more instability and more movement,” Doohan explains. “If the car was in the same window, he’d probably want it to be a little more stable. And that meant compromises for me that we were able to fix in the simulator between Bahrain and Australia.”

The change involved rear suspension geometry, specifically a slight increase in toe-in. A seemingly minor adjustment, but one that had a notable impact on drivability. As Doohan explains, this change gives him the ideal rear-end stability to complement an aggressive front, while also improving corner entry, traction, and tyre management. “It’s just a few notches at the rear that allow me to steer less in mid-corner,” Doohan details. “I don’t have to brake as much, and that reduces instability from engine braking on corner entry. Since I don’t have to steer as much, I also gain five degrees of temperature on the front tyres over a long stint.”

The change was suggested by Josh Peckett, the rookie’s race engineer. The adjustment was first tested in the simulator and, despite promising results, the team remained cautious. Further testing with other drivers confirmed the benefit, and the change was applied to the car during second free practice in Australia.

While results on paper don’t yet reflect this progress, Doohan’s performances in Australia and China show that he’s on the right path. He now needs to build on this improvement and learn from past mistakes to turn his raw pace into results — starting in just a few days in Japan.