Alpine F1 has confirmed that Jack Duane will make his Formula 1 debut this weekend as part of the race weekend: in Mexico City, the 19-year-old Australian will spend the first Friday practice behind the wheel of the A522 car, replacing Esteban Okon .
The Alpine Academy student will further master Formula 1 technique in Abu Dhabi, where he will also work in training for the final round of the season.
Strictly speaking, Jack is already familiar with this car to a certain extent: he first drove it in September during the official shooting day, which the Renault works team held in Monza. In addition, Duane worked all year on private testing behind the wheel of last year’s A521: in May in Qatar, in June in Monza and last month in Budapest.
The son of legendary Australian motorcycle racer Mick Duane, five-time world champion, was admitted to the Alpine Academy in January after finishing second in Formula 3 in 2021. This year he switched to F2, scoring three wins, taking three pole positions and one stage before the end of the season, fourth place in the individual classification.
Jack Duane: “I am very grateful to Alpine for giving me the opportunity to ride in the free rides in Mexico City. It is always a great honor for me to drive a Formula 1 car and to get such an opportunity on a race weekend – especially. I aim to get behind the wheel every weekend and the experience to come will take me one step closer to the goal.
I feel like I prepared as best I could. It will be a very exciting experience to drive a car at high altitude on this type of fast track. I plan to work hard all day to do everything the team has planned, while trying to enjoy every moment.”
Otmar Safnauer, Team Principal: “We are pleased to announce that Jack will be joining the team in Mexico City and driving for the first practice. We have all been impressed with Jack’s progress in many areas this season – he deserves this opportunity as we continue to develop his racing potential. It is important for young drivers to test Formula 1 cars and our Academy has successfully tackled this task.
We expect Jack to give his best during the session and get the most out of the Formula 1 race weekend.”
Source: F1 News
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