Jack Doohan: My greatest influences

3 November 2022

He has been ultra-quick all season long and a standout amongst the rookie Formula 2 class of 2022, and that’s no wonder with the preparations Jack Doohan has undertaken to make his graduation from Formula 3 work.

The Virtuosi Racing driver obviously has one figure to draw experience and advice from, but there is no stone left unturned for the Australian in his pursuit of improvement in every area of performance.

FATHER

“My whole career to date from the very start from keeping me in line as a young karter to making sure I'm on top of everything now in Formula 2. Making sure I’m controlling my emotions and to keep under control all circumstances. From when I was a 13-year-old kid, just moved to Europe to getting me out on the bike every day and then the gym in the afternoon, shaping me into how a sportsman should be, with the correct mentality and to be at the top of the motorsport game, which he was obviously. He was able to, as an elite sportsman, to show me the ropes and passing on all of his very deep experience.”

GIACOMO RICCI

“When I joined Trident, it was off the back of the worst year in my racing career in 2020. One of my first test days in F3 was with Giacomo at Monza and straight away, it was really good, so Giacomo decided to sign me after that one test day, and he saw what I could do in one of his cars. He had that faith in me, but he did so much more than that.

“When we went to the Barcelona test in his car, the first lap I was purple, purple, but then in the last sector with slow corners, I’d struggled so much in all of my junior career with sections like that, until I started working with Giacomo. Sector 3 in Barcelona is really slow speed, I was seven-tenths off in that last sector alone. We really worked on it. After that first day, we went for another track walk than night to analyse that last sector for a good half hour to try and work on that. Then a week later, he took me to Vallelunga, which is almost like a go-kart track, stop/start, super technical, and I just worked on the slow speed stuff.

“Then this year in Barcelona, that last sector in Barcelona was my strongest sector and then last year, I was purple in sector 3 in Abu Dhabi, so it’s turned into one of my strengths. I was always at the factory, and he was always there. It helped me so much so I can definitely say I wouldn’t be where I am now without Giacomo. He’ll be somebody I remember much more than for just being a team manager.”

DAVID BOYCE

“As soon as I moved over to Europe, I started working with David and did up until last year. I clearly had areas to work on and he used to work with David Coulthard and Allan McNish when they were younger. Dad is close with DC so we were able to start working together in karting and he helped me a lot when I was younger, being able to manage myself, manage how to go racing you could say, how to do it properly.

"Separating being a kid karting in Australia and obviously succeeding but not with that professionalism. I was still 11-12 years-old and I probably spent more time with him than I did my parents. He was doing everything for me to help and I owe him 100% in helping build up to the mindset I have now.”

FERGUS MUMFORD

“I started working with Fergus at the start of 2021, coinciding with the move to Trident. I was fast for sure and I immediately realised I had the talent to put a solid time on the board but over the course of a season, to be able to manage myself and my head, Fergus was able to come on board and really sort that out.

“I think it was the first test of the year at Red Bull Ring, the track has never been one of my strengths, I was a little bit all over the shop. But when I started working with him for the first time at a test in Barcelona and things were going well. We started doing more Zoom calls, studying more and looking at my mindset, teaching me breathing techniques and all sorts of different analysis in how I can control myself in all scenarios. That went more and more in depth as we started working together full time. How I could control myself in difficult situations and embracing pressure, he was a huge part, along with Giacomo, in teaching me everything I was able to do in that Trident car, my 2021 F3 season and now my adaptation to Formula 2 and making it successful.

“Last year, I’d never driven in Abu Dhabi or tested there, and I went into an F2 car in Saudi and went to Abu Dhabi and in Qualifying, I think we only had one lap in the last run, so I had to do my warm-up procedure while everyone else was on a push lap. It was all a bit messy and the engineers were a bit concerned over the radio but because of Fergus and what was implemented, I was able to put a lap in for provisional pole until Oscar Piastri went quicker. I ended up P2 for a wildcard appearance without testing or anything, it was cool. I gave Fergus that suit from that weekend as a thanks to him, I’m definitely grateful to him.”