Formula 1 prospect Jack Doohan drew first blood in Formula 2 practice, topping the timesheets at the Australian Grand Prix.
Doohan, the son of MotoGP champion Mick Doohan, clocked a 1:28.989s at the Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit ahead of qualifying.
The Gold Coast native spent the lion’s share of the session on top, setting the quickest time late in the piece.
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Red Bull junior Isack Hadjar was second quickest for Hitech and three tenths adrift of the hometown hero.
Last year’s FIA Formula 3 Championship winner and Alpine junior Victor Martin was third for ART Grand Prix, just 0.010s off of Hadjar.
The 30-minute session was interrupted by several red flags, the first of which was brought out by Israeli driver Roy Nissany who spun at the final corner.
The Charouz driver clipped the grass on his outside, slipping and spinning into the outside concrete wall.
Jehan Daruvala was next to spin at the final corner, although he avoided contact with the wall. However, he stalled and couldn’t get going again, drawing another red flag.
The third and final red flag was brought out when Ferrari academy driver Oliver Bearman spun in the final minute at turn one, bogging his Prema Racing entry in the grass.
The Formula 1 junior drivers ruled the roost with Red Bull duo Jak Crawford and Enzo Fittipaldi completing the top five.
Bearman, Ayumu Iwasa (Red Bull), Zane Maloney (Red Bull), Richard Verschoor, and Ralph Boschung rounded out the top 10.
Who are the Australians in F2 and F3?
Outside of Oscar Piastri in Formula 1, there are a handful of Australian young guns in the feeder categories.
Formula 2 driver Jack Doohan is Australia’s next best hope of breaking into Formula 1.
The Gold Coast-born driver is part of the Alpine Academy, the same program that Oscar Piastri and Guanyu Zhou were part of.
Doohan competes under the Virtuosi Racing banner alongside teammate Belgian Amaury Cordeel.
In Formula 3, there are three Australians looking to make a name for themselves.
The leading driver in that trio is Hugh Barter. Born in Nagoya to a Japanese mum and Australian dad, the 17-year-old is in his first Formula 3 season.
He has twice finished second in French Formula 4 and was runner up in Spanish Formula 4 in 2022.
Barter, who currently sits 11th in the drivers’ championship after round one, competes for Campos Racing alongside countryman Christian Mansell and Spaniard Pepe Marti.
Maitland-born Mansell, who races under a British licence, has had success in single-seater racing with wins in British Formula 3 and Euroformula Open.
Mansell twice finished 13th in the season-opener and came into the Australian Grand Prix sitting 17th in the drivers’ championship.
Mansell’s battle isn’t only on the track, the 18-year-old also has to manage his type one diabetes.
Tommy Smith is another Australian in his first Formula 3 season. The Van Amersfoort Racing driver finished 23rd and 28th in a tough start to the season.
Smith, 20, is the nephew of Supercars driver Jack Smith.
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