Jack Doohan admits he has to freshen up on driving standards after two penalties during F1 Chinese GP weekend, as he feels positive with the step taken.
Already under pressure to deliver due to the looming threat from mostly Franco Colapinto, Alpine’s Doohan did not have the best of weekends in F1 Chinese GP in terms of escaping penalties. He was handed two penalties – one in sprint and other in the main grand prix.
That resulted in four penalty points and he potentially escaped another two after he was under investigation for movement under braking but was cleared from any trouble. Doohan acknowledges the lapses and notes that he will freshen up on the driving standards to not lose out in races.
“I did 56 more laps than what I got in Australia, that’s the first positive,” said Doohan to media. “We were lacking bit of pace in general, but to pick four sports and head forward, to keep the VCARB behind for 20-odd laps, the car that finished in Q3 and they had solid pace, I think we could be quite happy with that.
“Obviously, I am going to have to re-visit it (fight with Hadjar), because I don’t want to get penalties on regular basis. I am giving up two places like that. I did drop in the standings, but it (the pace) feels a bit better. I just have to refresh myself, fill in the driver guidelines, so I stop having any issues,” summed up Doohan, who felt positive on the driving side of things.
He reckoned he was not far off from teammate Pierre Gasly in terms of pace and it bodes well for the future as he works well with the team. “It was nice on that hard stint, we were able to close up to the group in front quite quickly,” continued Doohan. “When Alex came out after his pit stop and you have the cars coming past on fresh tyres, you lose on average about two seconds when you get overtaken by those cars, so that just was hurting the tyres, plus falling back a bit from Pierre.
“On average we’re quite similar, I think, especially on one-lap pace, plus or minus a tenth depending on the session. So there’s a lot of positives to take forward. I think for me there’s a lot of positives. We haven’t had that result quite yet to really show it, but the inner circle understands that, and I think that’s what’s most important.
“The guys are super happy on the team, for sure. Flavio, Oli, Luca, our backers, they’re going to be wanting points. So when the car’s going to get there, we’re going to have to make sure that we’re on it to ensure that we can maximise that. But for now we’re going to have to keep working, keep our heads down, and hopefully Suzuka is a better track for us,” summed up Doohan.
Here’s Isack Hadjar on Jack Doohan
