Alpine reserve driver Jack Doohan is set for his second FP1 session of the 2024 Formula 1 season this weekend, as he will get into the cockpit of Pierre Gasly’s A524 during FP1 at Silverstone on Friday.
The session is part of F1’s rookie driver program. Under current regulations each team must run a rookie in practice — defined as a driver with less than two Grand Prix starts in their career — twice over the course of a single F1 campaign.
Doohan last participated in FP1 back at the Canadian Grand Prix, but wet weather conditions limited the reserve driver to just three laps.
The news comes ahead of a critical test session for Doohan scheduled for next week. As part of Alpine’s Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) program he, along with Mercedes reserve and Alpine World Endurance Championship driver Mick Schumacher, will drive the A522 at a session at Circuit Paul Ricard.
“As part of our TPC program, we will test reserve driver Jack Doohan, in line with his 2024 schedule, as well as Mick Schumacher as part of his Alpine Endurance project next week at Circuit Paul Ricard,” an Alpine spokesperson said last week. “We look forward to continuing to use our Race Support Team and the A522 Formula 1 car during our TPC program.”
Both Doohan and Schumacher are considered among the favorites to replace Esteban Ocon for next season. Alpine and Ocon previously announced that the two would be parting ways at the end of the 2024 F1 campaign. While Doohan and Schumacher are under consideration for that seat, the team has made a push in recent weeks to lure Carlos Sainz Jr. to Alpine for next year.
Schumacher’s previous F1 experience with Haas could give him an edge when compared with Doohan, but it also makes him ineligible for practice sessions under F1’s rookie driver program.
That gives Doohan a chance of his own to impress both this week, and then next.
Scottie Scheffler could not make a putt at the 124th U.S. Open, which helps explain why he made only four birdies over his four rounds.
He called it a “frustrating” week after he finished up on Sunday, adding that it was “long.” Indeed, Scheffler arrived at Pinehurst No. 2 fresh off a victory at the Memorial, his fifth win of the 2024 season. But Jack Nicklaus’ course played so tough, that many players compared it to a major championship.
That level of difficulty takes a lot out of a player, let alone the best golfer in the world, especially going into a U.S. Open. Hence, Scheffler will re-evaluate whether or not he will play in the weeks before majors going forward.
“I think playing the week before, a lot of it depends on the golf course, but I think last week with the golf course the way it was, it probably was not the best prep work for me coming into another challenging event,” Scheffler said Sunday.
Scottie Scheffler walks up the 18th hole during the third round of the 2024 U.S. Open.Photo by Tracy Wilcox/PGA Tour via Getty Images
“I shot 5-under during the first round at the Memorial, which would have been the easiest day, and after that, I was 3-under from there on out. I mean, that’s pretty U.S. Open-like, and to play that many rounds, especially with what I’ve been dealing with the weeks leading up or the whole season, been playing a lot of good golf and being in contention, I think maybe my prep would have been a little bit better for this week if I was at home.”
Of course, Scheffler has had a lot happen in his life off the golf course in recent months. His arrest at the PGA Championship quickly became national news and an internet sensation. He and his wife, Meredith, also welcomed a baby boy on May 8, only nine days before he found himself in a jail cell in Louisville, Kentucky.
After that, he played in the Charles Schwab Challenge, where a remarkable tragedy happened in the middle of the tournament. Then, Scheffler skipped the RBC Canadian Open and made his next start at the Memorial.
“I’m obviously not going to skip Jack’s tournament,” Scheffler added.
“It’s a tournament I love playing. It’s a tournament that I’m humbled to be the champion at.”
Before this season, Nicklaus staged the Memorial Tournament during the first weekend of June, with the first practice round coinciding with Memorial Day.
The PGA Tour pushed it back one week this year, hoping to give golf fans three straight weeks of top-level golf. After the Memorial, the world’s best went straight to Pinehurst No. 2, and then, next week, the top players on the PGA Tour will head to the Travelers Championship, the final Signature Event of the season. Nicklaus hopes that his tournament will revert to its prior schedule, and surely, Scheffler feels the same.
“I think in terms of prep work for a week that I know is going to be as tough as this, I’m leaning towards maybe not playing the week before,” Scheffler added after Saturday’s round.
Scottie Scheffler and Tom McKibbin during the final round of the 2024 U.S. Open.Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images
“Going into the major championships, especially the ones we know are going to be really challenging, it may be in my best interest not to play the week before.”
Scheffler echoed this sentiment after his Sunday round, too.
“As far as prep for this week, it may not have been the best, but I knew what my schedule was at the beginning of the year. I had it set,” Scheffler said.
“That was always the way it was going to be. I feel like going forward, I’ll maybe do things a little bit differently in the weeks leading up to majors, especially when you know it’s going to be a challenging setup at a U.S. Open.”
Perhaps the PGA Tour will change the date of the Memorial back to its traditional date on the heels of Memorial Day next season. But maybe it does not. Either way, Scheffler looks like he will take the week off before major championships, especially before U.S. Opens, in 2025 and beyond.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThroughfor more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
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